Digimon: Infection
by reversemoon
Summary: Digimon. The world's largest internet-based game, with millions of people playing, fighting, and interacting with Digimon on a daily basis. Our story follow the adventures of Fujirin Kurohi and his illegal partner Linkmon, as they...well, you'll find out soon enough.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 1: Death; Deceived; Deleter

The thunderous crack of the shattering floor beneath them still rang through the air, large clutters of debris crashing to the ground, each dissipating soon after. Narrowly evading the massive shards, a blur of black maneuvered its way through the white rain. Making its way stealthily around the gaze of the massive blue titan, it watched as it marched unscathed through the torrent. Catching sight of its prey, the iron clad behemoth stretched out its mechanical left arm, which sprung out like a torpedo at the small black lizard.

"_Trident Arm!_" cried the MetalGreymon. With only seconds to react before the inevitable contact of metal on his scaled skin, a voice laden with light static called out through the roar.

_Program Accessed: Power Leveler – CvP Activated_

The dwarfed Digimon began glowing with a bright blue aura. Using his newly gifted power, he caught the beast's middle claw under his arm. With a heavy heave, he began to twirl the dinosaur around like a fat plumber. He released his grip on his metallic frame, spending him flying into the wall of the battle arena. To finish it, the reptile began to focus energy in his mouth, which took on a light-purple hue and...

"_Disconnect Grenade!_" He let out a powerful volley, which slammed hard into the MetalGreymon's chest. Almost immediately, the same staticy voice rang out:

_Game Over – Winner, Linkmon_

The match had been won. A small vid-screen, which appeared to be connected to a web-cam, expanded into view. On it was the face of a young man, Linkmon's human partner. "Good job, Link. Looks like not even a perfect level can stand up to you."

Linkmon stared back at the newly formed crater where the Greymon's body still lay. "No. If it had not been for your support program, Kurohi, I would have surely met my end."

Kurohi scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed at his partner's comment. "On come on, don't say it like that. I'm your Tamer. It's my job to look after you."

Their conversation was interrupted, however, by the angry outbursts of the Tamer they had just defeated. His vid-screen darted from one end of his MetalGreymon to the other, all the while mumbling curse words to himself. He turned his attention to Kurohi and Linkmon. "Damn Illegals. Always messing up this game. You wanna cheat? Go fight some other fu-" _Censoring foul language _"...damn computer. Go play some other hacker instead of us who actually wanna play the right way!"

Both he and his Digimon logged out of the battle server. Linkmon's vestigial wings drooped. He was obviously upset by the comment, and Kurohi knew why. "Don't let what he said get to you. C'mon, I've still gotta take a shower before class starts."

Linkmon nodded. The two of them logged out.

* * *

Kurohi got up from his computer and scratched his messy black hair. He made his way over to the one window in his apartment, and threw open the curtains him mom gave him. He gazed his eyes on a beautiful Tokyo morning, or he would if there wasn't an eight-story building in front of him. It was still nice to get some natural light in, thou. He could see his own reflection through the glass. He wasn't anything special; average height, average weight. The only interesting thing about him was probably his blue eyes and the fact that he was...not wearing any pants. He closed the curtains.

A few dozen minutes later, he was showered and changed (with pants). He sat down at his computer once more before leaving. "C'mon, Link. Time to get going, so transfer over, if you'd please."

A 3d render of Kurohi's Digimon partner appeared on screen. "Understood." There was a quiet beep from the computer, followed by a quiet beep from the tiny black device next to it. With the wireless transfer done, Kurohi picked up the DP. He hit the left button to bring up the clock.

"Uh...Link, is the time right?"

"Yes. It is currently 7:58."

"Which means..."

"You are late. Again. As per usual."

He bolted to the door, fumbling with the handle in his haste. After the few seconds it took to open it, he proceeded to make up for that time by jumping from his second-story balcony. It took only a moment after his feet hit the ground for them to give way, plummeting him face-first into the dirt.

Linkmon audibly sighed. "Just because you can do it when you are intoxicated, does not mean that is possible for you to do it when you are sober."

"Shu' u'. A' vash 'un fime. Awl 'ounsh 'ack." He pulled his DP out of his pocket and flipped it open. He thumbed through his contacts until he found the name 'Riko'. He sent her a text: _Legs may b brkn. Wil b late. Plz expln._

He flipped himself over and stared at the sky. "I guess I have a few more minutes to rest, then."

"You're hopeless."

"No, hopeful."

He laid there for exactly three minutes.

* * *

Kurohi slammed his fist on the door. "Nobu! Nobu, open up!" A pale face poked through the door.

"K-Kurohi-san? What are you doing here? I'm in the middle of class, and y-you should be too."

"It's okay, I'm late. Listen, I need bandages and a crutch and a sexy female nursing student."

"W-w-w-what? Where in the world would I get those things?"

Kurohi pointed his finger to the sign next to the door: Medical Department.

"W-w-well, why do you need a nurse?"

"I need somebody to dress me, don't I?"

Nobu sighed. "You do not get a nurse. I will dress your wounds for you. Get in the classroom; let's make this quick."

A few minutes later, Kurohi was hobbling into class, one leg very authentically covered in bandages and a crutch in each hand. He definitely needed to thank Nobu again. The teacher looked up as he entered. "And why are you late, Furijin-san?"

Kurohi lifted his leg. "I fell off my balcony this morning." The teacher looked skeptical, but did not argue.

Class went on as usual from that point, except for the ungodly itching under Kurohi's bandages. As they were dismissed, the teacher called him back. "Furijin-san, a moment if you'd please?" Kurohi stumbled toward the front of the room. "Furijin-san, I appreciate the hard work you must have put Endo-san through to pull this off, so I will not mark you tardy this **one** time for his sake. " He looked at him sternly. "But if you try pulling this kind of stunt again, you will be marked more than late, is that understood?"

"Yes sensei." And with that, Kurohi left the class. Someone was waiting for him on the other side of the doorway.

"You shouldn't lie to sensei." The girl, Riko, gave him a sharp glare, almost identical to the one he had just received in the classroom.

"I didn't lie, I really did...descend from my balcony to the ground..."

"_Descend?_ How do you descend without falling?" It looked like she had already found the answer.

"I may have...I was rushed...so I could have..."

"He jumped." The voice came from Kurohi's pocket.

"Link!"

Riko's attention was now also focused on his pocket. A small smile pushed through her usually straight face. "Looks like that toy of yours is good for something after all."

"Don't call him a toy." Kurohi's response was quick, like he had said it many times before. "He is not a toy, he is a rendered AI life-form, and my partner. And if I remember correctly, when your computer was swarming with viruses, wasn't it my 'toy' that got rid of them all."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or your… Digimon."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

She gave him an incredulous look. "I'm sorry, Link-Mon."

They did not talk as they went their separate ways to their next classes.

The rest of the day went off without any more problems, and luckily any more arguments either. With classes over, Kurohi set off on foot to his next destination: work.

* * *

Kurohi walked up to the convenience store where he worked. The sign protruding from the front had a picture of a plushy-style lion's head on it and read "Venience Store". He had been working there for over six months, and he still had no idea what that sign meant.

Kurohi made his way to the back and changed into his uniform, a blue polo with the little lion's head over the heart and a pair of matching slacks. He made his way up to the register. "Good afternoon, Suzuki-senpai."

The shaggy-haired man looked up from his work. "Good afternoon to you too, Kurohi. How was school?"

"..."

"That bad, huh?"

"Not so much 'bad' as...no, bad is a good word for it."

"Well, why don't you pull up a chair and...Jin-san?" The bald woman who was restocking the shelves pulled an ear-bud out of her ear and turned her head toward Suzuki. The faint sound of punk music filled the air. "Jin-san, I asked you not to listen to music during your shift." She shrugged and put the ear-bud back in.

This had basically been the daily routine since Kurohi had started working there. Suzuki's constant smiling and Jin's constant...Jin-ness. The only thing missing was his boss's yelling, but he could do without that.

"Kurohi!" Never mind, the picture was officially complete. "You're late!"

"No I'm not, sir. My shift doesn't start for another three minutes."

"Well...You're not getting paid extra!"

"I know. You said that yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. And every day I've worked here."

The balding red-faced man stuttered for a minute, before turning his attention to Jin. "Takashi, turn off that blasted music!" She didn't even look up. He then moved to Suzuki. He opened his mouth, but said nothing. Suzuki could do no wrong. Unable to instill order on his employees, he stormed to his office in the back of the store.

Suzuki eyes trailed after him as he left. "Looks like Sato-san had a bad morning."

"He always has a bad morning." Kurohi muttered snidely.

Store stocked, customers served, and light fading, Kurohi was heading home at the end of his shift.

"Alright! Time to head online and get a couple rounds in!"

"Shouldn't you work on some of your homework? What about that paper on the lasting effects of feudal rule, or the one on the importance of binary codes that you still have to write?"

"I have plenty of time. There's nothing wrong with getting in a few matches."

"They're due tomorrow..."

"Like I said; plenty of time."

Linkmon sighed. "Sometimes I envy you. That unbelievable work-ethic of yours."

Kurohi let out a light chuckle. He had only had Linkmon for around seven months, but they already knew each other inside and out. He wasn't that surprised, all things considered, but it was still a nice feeling to know someone was that close to him.

"Kurohi?"

"What?"

"You look lost in thought. The thoughts you get lost in are normally perverted or end up getting yourself, and inadvertently myself, into trouble."

Kurohi put on a slight frown, though it didn't reflect how he was actually feeling. It was more for show. He did get the little lizard into more hijinks then he'd like to admit, but it comes with the territory of being a tamer. Not to mention one who owns an illegal Digimon; that just complicates things even more.

"Kurohi, you should pay attention to where you're walking."

"Whoa!" A car came streaming past his vision. In all his reminiscing, he had walked to the crosswalk two blocks past his apartment. "Whoops. That was close."

"What could you possibly be thinking about to be that lost in your own head?"

"It's...nothing. Just... stuff."

The look Linkmon shot him through the monitor was one of mild confusion. "Never mind." Kurohi spun 360 degrees on his heels and started back to his apartment.

* * *

Linkmon materialized in the white, spherical space of Kurohi's desktop. It was dotted with a few shortcuts and folders, but no wallpaper. Since Kurohi was running a pirated OS, it kept deleting anything he put up.

A vid-screen maximized next to him. "Ready to kick some ass, partner?"

"You have two papers due tomorrow. Finish at least one, and I will be willing to 'kick some ass'."

"Tell you what; I'll cut you a deal."

"I thought I just presented you with a deal?"

"Multitasking."

"Multi...Oh, no. Kurohi you know that-"

"Up-up-up, let me finish."

Linkmon remained quiet as the image of Kurohi straightened himself up, like he was giving a business proposal.

"You go out, fight a couple low-level opponents. Opponent's that you can handle on your own fairly well without my assistance." Linkmon nodded his head, following Kurohi's train of thought. "Meanwhile, I will put the majority of my attention on my paper. When I finish my first one, we can do one or two more challenging matches as a reward. Intensive is always nice way to keep people working, right? Then I'll get back to work on my second paper, and you can rest up. I get my homework done, and you gain experience at the same time. It's a win-win. Sound good?"

Linkmon scratched his chin with one of his claws. "Much to my surprise, it does sound quite the compromise." Linkmon may not have wanted to admit it, but the day had been even more boring for him than it had been for Kurohi, having been stuck in a portable electronic device the duration of it. He very much wanted to spread his wings, but to let Kurohi know that would give him much leverage in future situations like this.

"I suppose that is an acceptable option as well. As you said, it is 'win-win'."

"Okay! I'm gonna start googling feudal stuff. You head to the arena and get us signed up for some action!"

A tube, the same color as Kurohi's PC background, appeared behind Linkmon, meaning he could now depart for the internet. He took off down the new opening, heading in the familiar direction of the battle arenas. Linkmon spread his wings to their fullest, activating some of his lesser used programming, which drastically increased his speed while surfing through the data space. He would be there in no time at all.

As Linkmon turned and headed down a newly opened pathway, he ran head-first into a clump of discarded data. He stopped and wiped it off of his face. It was a texture pattern. Blue and purple, like a Gabumon or a Psychemon.

"Something wrong, Link?"

"Shouldn't you be studying?"

"I am. I'm just checking in on you. So why the sudden halt? Spot a cute girl?"

Linkmon ignored him and held the texture data up to Kurohi's vid-screen. "What does this look like to you?"

Kurohi examined the fragment the best he could from his side of the monitor. "Isn't it just trash data? Why? What do you think it is?"

"It looks to me like it may be a piece of a Digimon."

When Linkmon next looked at Kurohi, his face had paled slightly. "Are you sure?"

"No. It's just a hunch." Kurohi looked uneasy. Linkmon could tell that something was wrong. "Do you want me to investigate?"

"Yea, sure. Let's clear up what's going on here. Then maybe you should head back, I'm a little worried."

Something was definitely wrong with Kurohi. He was so excited to fight just a minute ago. Linkmon did not know what it was, but if he wanted answers, he'd have to find where this data came from.

Linkmon continued slowly down the pathway, placing all of his focus into searching for anything suspicious in the vicinity. It didn't take long before he stumbled upon more loose data. This time it was a bright-orange fur texture. A Gizamon? Or maybe it came from a Zudomon? In the depths of his programming, he hoped it was not the later. The thought of something like this, whatever it was, happening to a perfect level made him feel insecure of his chances.

"Kurohi, this one is different."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean it looks like it came from a separate Digimon than the previous one. What do you think could have done this?"

"No clue, but I don't like this. Maybe you should head home now."

"Let me search around a little more first. I think we may be getting closer to the source of the problem."

"Link…"

"I'll be fine. I have my partner with me, after all."

Kurohi cracked a small smile at Linkmon's words of encouragement. "Okay, but be _very_ careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I will."

Happy that he could lift Kurohi's spirits, Linkmon continued forward, only to discover a sight that not only undid all of Kurohi's rejuvenated energy, but Linkmon's as well.

They were Digimon. Their bodies had been broken into pieces, their eyes blank, and their mouths open, as if they had been screaming. Linkmon saw a Gabumon and a Gizamon, just as he had predicted from the pieces of data he had found. Both had been torn in half, the first was missing his lower half, and the second his entire right side. Amongst the others he could see, there was a Muchomon, a MoriShellmon, and an Airdramon. Each of them had also been ripped to shreds; all that remained of the MoriShellmon was its head.

"Wh-what could have caused this…"

"Link! Get out of there, now!"

"Why. If they were deleted, they should have become Digitama. Why would…how could..."

"Link!"

"K-Kurohi, what is…"

However, before Linkmon could do anything, another pathway opened up behind him. From it emerged a Kabuterimon, flanked by a Centarmon and a Sagittarimon. The three of them stopped dead in their tracks at the sight before them. It took a minute before any of them spoke. Unfortunately, they were not kind words for the dead.

"You! Illegal! This was your doing wasn't it!?" The Kabuterimon snapped angrily at the only living thing in the digital sea of death.

"N-no. I found them by chance."

"Do you expect us to believe that!?" The brute loomed in on Linkmon, followed closely by his lackeys. Their intentions were as clear as a subspecies of ToyAgumon.

"Link, there's no use arguing with them. The only way we're gonna get out of here is by blasting through 'um."

"But what about-"

"Believe me, I wish there was another option, too."

Taking advantage of Linkmon's momentarily dropped guard, the Kabuterimon launched his attack.

"_Mega Blaster!_" The electric blast barreled toward the small Digimon.

Snapping back into focus, Linkmon used his enhanced speed to narrowly evade the beetles blast, which ripped through the severed head of the green crustacean. Without even a moment to breathe, the two horsemen charged in for a melee attack.

"_Jet Gallop!_", "_Meteor Gallop!_"

These attacks were not as difficult to dodge, but his two opponents quickly switched to their own ranged attacks.

"_Hunting Cannon!_", "_Judgment Arrow!_"

Even with his increased speed, there was no time time to dodge. All Linkmon could do was open his mouth wide and..."_Disconnect Grenade!_"

The blast slammed head-on into the oncoming projectiles, canceling them with a small explosion. The two of them did not stop, however. They, along with the Kabuterimon, fired assault after assault on their small target. Linkmon did the best he could to avoid the attacks, and blast away any he couldn't, but he would be in trouble quickly if they didn't ease up their attacks soon. He could not reason with them, and injuring them would only add to his look of guilt. There had to be a way out of this situation.

Linkmon streaked toward one of the walls, he cranked back his arm, and smashed it into the wall with all his might. "_Up-link Claw!_"

Debris flew out, obscuring him from his opponents. He took in a quick breath and quickly tried to devise a strategy.

"Kurohi! Three versus one is not favorable odds! Is there anything you can do from your end to turn this around?"

"Message received! I've got the winning play all set-"

Before Kurohi could complete his sentence there was an ear shattering screech and a bizarre pathway, almost like a tear, opened up behind the unorthodox battlefield. From it erupted a large red form, snarling and howling like a savage beast. It turned its half of a face at the battling Digimon, and shrieked...


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2: Reveal; Revitalize; Retaliation

Linkmon did not know what he was seeing. The visage that appeared before him was that of a Kuwagamon; or half of one. It was broken down like the Digimon around him, missing its entire right side, but it was still alive. The sadness that struck his heart was quickly shattered, however, as the red beetle wrapped its curled fingers around the neck of the deceased Airdramon, and sunk its partial mouth into its skull. All four of the remaining Digimon were horrified by what they were seeing; the Kuwagamon cannibalizing another Digimon, gorging itself on its corpse.

The brash Kabuterimon, redirecting his misplaced anger, was the first to attack. He fired four simultaneous Mega Blasters at it, all of them colliding dead-on and sending a cloud of digital smoke into the air. The air grew silent. None of them made a sound, and no other sounds pierced the air. Except the scream. The Kuwagamon burst out of the smoke at break-neck speed, shooting straight toward Kabuterimon. He raised his head, his horn glowing, trying to intercept the monsters attacks.

"_Beetle Hor-!_"

His cry was silenced as a ripping noise pierced the air. The Kuwagamon had sped up at the last second and shoved his hand through the other beetle's chest. Kabuterimon wheezed as thou he couldn't breathe; his face frozen in shock. His terrified compatriots, eyes wide in sheer terror, turned their tails and galloped away as fast as they could. Linkmon could only stand there and watch in fear at what was happening. Kabuterimon turned his head slowly toward Linkmon and tried to utter some cry for help, but the eyeless face was quickly torn from the rest of its body by the jaws of his attacker. The Kuwagamon continued to feast on the bug, not even taking 20 seconds to devour the entirety of it.

Linkmon was paralyzed. There were no words he could think of to express the level of fear he was experiencing. It was only enhanced by a sickening echo that began resounding from the cannibal. The place where his body was severed began to quake as the sky does above the pavement in heat. With another sound that seemed to be a mix between squelching and the very tearing of space itself, a stream of data poured from the empty hollows of its body, taking on the shape of that which he had most recently devoured. The face of a beast, half Kuwagamon and half Kabuterimon turned to face Linkmon, and roared.

The creature charged him; its mismatched maw wide, ready to fill its seemingly bottomless stomach. Linkmon just stood there. He could not process what was going on. Everything was happening so fast. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he heard a voice. Was it calling his name?

"Link! Wake up, goddamnit! Link!" On the other side of the computer, Kurohi was shuffling through his support programs. "Link! Nap time is over!"

_Program Activated – Evolution_

Linkmon felt a surge of energy within himself. From his horns to the tip of his tail, he was radiating with it. He knew this feeling. He had experienced it many times. The rush of energy that came with-

"_Linkmon, evolve to-_"

His frame expanded, become less lizard-like and more saurian. His muscles expanded, his jaws widened, and his eyes glowed with an emotion that had no resemblance to the fear he had experienced only seconds ago.

His hand shot out, and easily caught the horned head in his hand, twisting its face until the red side of its face was pointed in his direction.

"-_Jackmon!_" He threw a heavy right hook into its exposed cheek, sending it flying into the tunnel wall. It blew through the dust and charged him, but Jackmon's speed was far superior. He was easily able to dodge the lopsided creatures attempts to ram him. After its third attempt to run him through as he did Kabuterimon, Jackmon placed his open mouth next to the side of its asymmetrical head.

"_System Down!_" There was no chance of it avoiding the blast of dark purple energy. It wailed in pain. Propelled by the speed of the attack's impact, it hurried to the wall and tore through it, creating a hole like the one it entered from. Before Jackmon could pursue, the hole had already closed.

"Kurohi, it escaped. What should we do?"

"Screencap. Be thorough. We'll send what we can to Digicorps. and get a bolo out on this thing. Do you think you can extract some images of it from your memory files?"

"That won't work. They'll be able to track those images back to me. Even screencaps. It'd be the same if you use your computer as well. If we want to stay hidden then we'll have to find another way to get the word out."

"You're right. But what can we do? I doubt those jack asses that ran off would be smart enough to report this. And to be honest, we really don't have any friends in the online community that we can ask either."

Jackmon contemplated the situation. Their status as Illegals greatly hindered their ability to acquire help from an authoritative source like Digicorps. "Then I suppose we'll just have to bring it down alone."

"No. No way. You saw what it did to that guy. There's no way I'd willingly let you get involved in something this dangerous."

"But we may be the only ones who know about it who are strong enough to do anything. It is my duty as a knight-"

"You are not a knight, you are a lizard! And strong or not, you could _die_! This isn't you losing to some cheating ass in an unregistered arena! I can't bring you back if you lose this fight."

"Then there's only one thing that we can do, isn't there." He stared Kurohi straight in the eyes; their matching iris' both glimmering with their own form of determination. "Win."

Kurohi kept their eyes locked for a few more seconds before dropping his head and letting out a heavy sigh. "Gawdamnit, Jackmon. Why do you have to say it all cool like that?"

"So when do we start looking?"

"Not tonight. Like _you_ said; I have homework. Even if it's just an excuse to keep you from fighting this thing for a bit longer, I don't want you out hunting while my back is turned, and I can't support you."

Jackmon gave a small smile. "I understand. We will begin our investigation tomorrow, then.

* * *

It was late. Kurohi had already handed in his abysmal papers, and had to have his senpai snap him out of a trance several times during work. He knew he promised Linkmon that they'd try and do something to stop whatever that abhorrence from the previous day was, but he didn't want to risk losing his partner either.

The sun was bright overhead. It didn't reflect Kurohi's mood at all. Linkmon spoke to his as thou he was reading his mind.

"Kurohi, we're doing this." He sometimes wondered if he has Link's tamer or if it was the other way around.

"You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Really sure?"

"Yes."

"Really, really, really sure with spaghetti flavored sprinkles?"

"Of those actually exist, I'll eat my tail."

"I can check Google real quick to see-"

"Kurohi, your attempts to delay my departure would prove more fruitful if I were actually in a computer, and not resting in the palm of your hand."

Kurohi looked stared at his little partner. "Is there anything I can say to convince you _not_ to risk your life?"

"It is my duty as-"

"-A knight to defend the people. I know. You've been going on about that all day." He beamed Linkmon back into his PC as he walked in the door and sat down in front of his monitor. "Just try to be careful, will you? This is me who's asking."

"Of course I will."

Linkmon quickly departed for the internet. Even if Kurohi was worried, the chances of meeting that thing again were slim. It would have to be incredibly stupid to return to the same location where they defeated it yesterday, and who knows where it would flee to from there. The probability was that they would never see whatever that was again.

Kurohi checked the monitor. Linkmon was not heading to the spot where they had fought yesterday. He was searching around a large stock exchange website.

"Linkmon? What are you doing?"

"…Looking for the creature."

"No you're not. You're looking for Bazaarmon, aren't you?"

"Yes I am. He is our highest chance of finding that creature again."

"But you hate that guy."

"Yes I do. He is a grotesque pheasant that I wish were skewered on a rotisserie."

"O-ho-ho. Yet you seek me out for information? You wear your feelings on your sleeveless wrists, my reptilian friend."

* * *

The voice came from Linkmon's right, carrying from the top of a large world map. The figure on top gently floated down to eye level. Bazaarmon, a brown Hawkmon with a turban, beamed a warm smile at his two guests. "Sahib Furijin, Sahib Linkmon, welcome and a good evening to you. How may I be of assistance?"

Kurohi spoke first, as Linkmon was obviously embarrassed that he was overheard by the subject of his dislike. "Evenin', Bazaarmon. If it makes you feel any better, I just think you're a suck-up."

"Yes, it does, Sahib Furijin. I am glad that you hold me in a higher opinion than your associate." He turned to Linkmon. "And I find your visions of my serverly demise most amusing, Sahib Linkmon." He beamed another smile. Linkmon just scowled.

"We are searching for something. We were hoping you may have an idea of its whereabouts."

"Ah, perhaps. You mentioned a creature, did you not? A Kuwagamon, by chance?"

"Not anymore. Now it's a Kuwaga- and Kabuterimon, split down the middle." Kurohi's interjection brought glowing excitement to Bazaarmon's face.

"Oh, is it now! This is news to me! Yes, yes, news indeed. Do you perchance see its transformation?"

"That is not why we are here!" Linkmon was obviously not happy.

"O-ho-ho, but you want _my_ information, do you not? If you give me yours, I may just give you mine for free."

"Fine, if it will make you easier to work with." Linkmon quickly recounted the previous day's events. Bazaarmon stood there, listening and nodding.

"I see. Well, there has been word of more bodies within the past day. Two Digimon were found near the access to the China server this morning. Around 2, I believe."

"Was it reported to the company?"

"Yes, thou their response to the statement was that it was a one-time incident; a glitch in the system, if you will. It seems they do not want to start o fuss."

"I see. Thank you for the information."

"Oh, no thank you for your business. Please continue to use my services in the future, Sahib Linkmon, Sahib Furijin."

* * *

"What do you think we should do, Kurohi? If the company is going to do things secretly, then it will take time for them to mobilize. More Digimon could be…killed in the time it takes."

"I know. But the China server entrance is a busy place. It won't be easy to move around there without someone blowing the whistle on us."

"The downside of being an illegal."

"We have friends in _no_ places."

Kurohi had learned quickly that many people had a no-tolerance policy toward Illegal Digimon. It wasn't all that surprising thou. Before Linkmon, he had run into a few of them. All were monstrously overpowered, not to mention they moved like brainless automatons. It's easy to create a body. It's not so easy to create a mind.

Kurohi's thoughts moved to the matter at hand, how to explore the China server entrance without being detected. He had almost forgotten his reluctance in all the excitement. "Well, we could always do that one thing."

"Which 'one thing'? There are a lot of 'one things' I am capable of."

"Y'know, your tail thing." The USB plug at the end of Linkmon's tail was programmed to be able to directly modify any data he inserted it into. Linkmon may not be the strongest illegal, but that didn't mean Kurohi hadn't made him overpowered in his own way. "We can use your hacking ability to create a sub-path below the normal pathways and use a one-way sight effect so you can observe while not being seen."

Kurohi's head was swelling at his ingenuity.

"Quell your ego, my tamer. I agree, it is a sound strategy, but it will consume much, if not all, of my energy to create a complete pathway throughout the area. Do you have a plan to compensate for that loss?"

"Do I have a plan? I'm a genius. Of course I have a plan."

"Your grades do not reflect your confidence."

"Neither did Albert Einstein's."

"Who?"

Kurohi's exasperation was obvious, but he pushed it away. "Never mind. Just remember to look up some stuff on relativity later." He cleared his throat and continued. "The solution is simple, my dear Watson-"

"Who is Watson?"

"Historical figures really aren't your forte, are they Link?" He silently apologized to Doyle-sama for his partners blasphemy. "Look, just, make as much as you need to move around. Build as you're moving, y'know? Spend a little at a time, and recharge in between uses. Simple."

"No need to repeat yourself."

"Yea, but repeating things cements them in the processor." He rapped his head with his knuckles.

* * *

The two of them made their way to their destination. As they got nearer, they had to dodge around more and more Digimon. After the second time they were almost spotted, Kurohi gave the ok, and Linkmon glided over to the nearest wall. His tail snaked its way from out behind him and its USB end plugged itself into the wall. After a few moments, a small hole, big enough for Linkmon to squeeze through, opened in its face. The two of them quickly scurried inside before any more passersby could appear. The hole quickly closed behind them, and they found themselves in a tiny, dark spherical chamber.

After a moment, a bit of light shone on them. Linkmon had again used his tail to create a one-way screen so they could see the goings-on outside. "So far so good."

"Where do we progress now, Kurohi?"

"Let's inch our way toward the hustle and bustle. Anyone panicking is more likely to find safety in numbers."

"A cruel, but clever assumption."

It took them a while to reach the main thoroughfare while trying to conserve energy. The place was busy, with Digimon and data streams alike zooming past them, like streams of light. They sat there in silence, watching the dazzling spectacle. "Makes you appreciate all the little things, doesn't it?"

"I suppose. But we must not lose focus. There is a purpose to us being here."

"Which hasn't reared its ugly head in the past…wow, it's only been an hour. Feels like a lot longer."

"You do know you are free to move about your apartment. You do not need to sit here and keep me company during the entire stakeout."

"Yea, I know." But he did not move from his seat. He just sat there with his Digimon, watching the lights.

The next two hours passed, with nothing more exciting than Kurohi having to run to the bathroom.

A low rumbling growl pierced the silence that had set between them. Linkmon jumped to his feet. "Kurohi, it's coming!"

"...No it's not." Linkmon turned to Kurohi, who had his arms wrapped around his stomach. He returned the lizard's gaze with an embarrassed look. "Sorry, I haven't eaten if five hours."

"I told you you didn't have to stay. You're free to get something to eat."

"Damn these human bodily functions." He stood up from his chair. "I'm gonna run out real quick and get something. You'll be okay for about five minutes by yourself, right?"

"I will be fine. It doesn't seem like our stakeout has brought forth much fruit. I will stay here until you get back, then I will proceed home."

Kurohi put on a somewhat baggy hoodie. "Got it. Hold down the fort, Link."

As he walked out the door his stomach growled audibly again. He couldn't help thinking he'd make a lousy cop. He walked to his nearest convenience store, not wanting to walk the distance to his work for his employee discount with Linkmon waiting at home for him. He browsed the shelves, looking at the different flavors of instant noodles. His stomach was telling him that one cup would not be enough, and he heartily agreed. After pulling three whole cups of noodles off the shelf, two with extra meat and one spicy one, he made his way to the checkout area, paid the cashier the Yen he owed them, and headed back to his apartment.

...Or he would have, if the cashier wasn't someone he knew.

"Hello, Kurohi-kun."

"Hey Yumie. I didn't know you worked here."

She gave him a venomous look. "Yumie?"

"Yumie-san! I meant Yumie-san."

Her face melted back to normal. "It's quite late. Is there any reason you're picking up food at this time of day?"

"Well, I haven't eaten dinner yet. I've been kinda busy today."

She gave him a curious look. "What could be so important to make you almost skip a meal?"

"I've been on a stakeout for the past few hours."

"A stakeout?"

"It's weird, you really don't want to hear about it, Yumie." She shot him another look. "-San."

"Well, I don't know what you've been doing, but make sure that you don't push off eating like this, Kurohi-kun. It's bad for your health. Your total comes to 24 Yen."

"And they say we college students have trouble with money. Ah, hold on, I got a text." Kurohi dropped a few coins in her hand and pulled out his DP. The message was from Linkmon.

It was less than a second before he was bolting through the door, leaving his food and change with Yumie.

"Kurohi-kun!? What about you food!?"

All thoughts other than those propelling him toward his home had exited his mind. All that he could focus on were the two words he had received from his partner. They echoed over and over in his head like a gong.

_It's here._

* * *

The thrashing beast shook the rubble from its body. In minutes most of the Digimon that had stayed to fight had been put out of commission, and it was taking all of Linkmon and the other Digimons' efforts to keep him away from the injured parties. But while their constant barrage of projectiles was keeping it from pressing forward, it showed no signs of retreating.

Letting out a shrieking howl, it fired a multitude of spherical energy blasts into the crowd. While Linkmon was able to use his enhanced speed to dodge the scatter fire, the others were not so lucky. Over half of their dwindling number of fighters were knocked to the floor senseless, while many of the injured were reduced to Digitamas. But none of them were dead; that was something Linkmon could rejoice about at a later time.

With the reduced rate if fire, the creature started pressing forward. Linkmon tried to put more force behind his blasts to make up for their falling numbers, but he was starting to feel tired.

_Program Activated – Breath Attack Consolidation_

Out of nowhere, Linkmon's spherical blasts became a constant stream of purple energy erupting from his mouth. What was more, he felt his energy slowly coming back.

The mass of insectoid data barked angrily as it was forced back by the purple wave.

"Link! We're goin' big!"

He had never been so glad to hear Kurohi's voice. "Understood."

_Program Activated – Evolution_

"_Linkmon evolve to Jackmon!"_

Jackmon charged the monster. The uppercut he assaulted it with sent a loud crack through the chamber. It flew backward several meters from the impact, howling in pain.

"I know it is quite unbecoming, but I quite enjoy the sound it makes when I punch it."

"Then let's see what kinda sound it makes when you blast it."

"Understood." He shot forward and grabbed its red horn, pulling it so it was looking upward. He then grabbed its lower jaw and pried it open. "_System Down!_"

The blast shot straight though it, leaving a hole through its stomach and out his back that destroyed two of its four wings. It's howl was earsplitting. It fell to the ground, and quickly became motionless.

"Is it over?"

"I believe so. No Digimon could take that type of attack without reverting. I doubt he could."

From below them, the remaining Digimon started cheering. Jackmon looked a little confused at their reaction.

"Seems like they like you, Jackmon. Even if you are a bit of a sadist."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, you blasted a big gaping hole through its-"

Jackmon was thrown sideways into Kurohi's image as the creature sped past him and through a newly torn hole in the ceiling. The crowd was silent.

"So, it is not over?"

"No, Jackmon. Something tells me...that this is just the beginning."


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3: Identity; Information; Illegal

Kurohi was exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. It had been a week since they had fought whatever that thing was, and no one had seen hide nor hair of it since. But that didn't stop Linkmon from wanting to keep looking. It was like he was on a crusaderly cause to try and defeat it. His constant interjections and arguments were what was keeping him from his normal level of mischievous adolescence.

"I think I'm coming down with a case of narcolepsy."

Nobu looked up from his bento and gave Kurohi a confused look. "You can't develop narcolepsy. It's a condition you're predisposed with. It comes from your chromo-"

A napkin slapped into the side of his face from over Kurohi's shoulder. "We get it, med-student. You're smart. Now eat your lunch." Riko obviously didn't want to listen to his medical jargon.

The three of them were sitting outside the main building on campus, having a quiet break before their next classes start.

Nobu pulled the napkin off his face. "Narcolepsy is also sudden. You wouldn't feel tired. I would diagnose you as having sleep deprivation." He picked up a deviled egg with his chopsticks.

"Not getting enough sleep?" She looked Kurohi up and down while popping a cucumber roll in her mouth. "Partying too much?"

"No."

She gave him a twisted little smile. "Late night web cam chats?"

"No."

"Perhaps you have been studying too late." Both Kurohi and Riko burst out laughing at Nobu's suggestion.

Kurohi stirred his cup of instant noodles. "I've been having Digimon trouble." They both gave him the look. The 'oh you're gonna talk about that again' look. They turned away, hoping avoiding eye-contact would help to avoid the conversation. "Y'see, this is why I didn't just come out and say it."

"Kurohi-san, if you keep arguing with your Digimon why don't you just leave it at ho-"

Another napkin smacked Nobu in the face. "Shut up, Nobu! Don't get him started!"

"Relax." Kurohi drank some of the broth from his cup. "I'm not gonna put you through that again. You get bored to tears every time I tell that story."

"Thank you."

"I'm a good friend, aren't I?"

"Yea. I guess you are."

"And good friends share their cucumber rolls."

The last of Riko's napkins hit Kurohi this time. The three of them finished their lunches in a very unquiet fashion, and headed to their separate classes, each a bit happier than when they met up.

* * *

The first thing Kurohi did after he got home was fall face-first on his tiny mattress. He wanted to sleep. It was much preferred to Linkmon's constant nag...

"Kurohi."

"I'm trying to sleep, Link."

"It's 5:30."

"And I feel like sleeping."

"If you're not going to do your homework, we could at least-"

"I don't feel like looking for it. If you want, I can write up a schedule or something for days we can-"

"Kurohi, don't take this matter so lightly. This isn't a game."

Kurohi turned his head to his desk, where Linkmon's newly uploaded visage could be seen through his computer screen. "But it's supposed to be." He turned away from him. "According to literally everyone I know, I'm the only person who thinks there's more to it."

"And it is because you feel that way that we are the only people who may be able to do something about it. Surely there is some way to convince you to take up arms with me."

"Y'know, Duke and Zwart didn't talk nearly as much as you."

"I am not them."

"Oh yes you are. Makes me wonder where all that talkative data came from." Despite trying to keep a straight a face as he could, despite the fact that Linkmon could not see his face, he couldn't help letting out a small chuckle. "But you're a lot more fun now than you were then." He paused for a moment. "I love you, Link."

"I am utterly disturbed." He was smiling, despite his comeback.

"Which is why I don't want you rushing in recklessly against an unknown enemy. I don't want to lose you too."

Linkmon waited a minute before responding. "How long did it take you to come up with that little speech?"

"Like it? Three whole days."

"It took you three days to come up with that?"

Kurohi propped himself up and bounced out of bed. "Shut up, and let's start the hunt."

* * *

"Let's stop the hunt." Kurohi massaged his temples. "We've been at it for 2 hours, and what've we found? Nothin'. Nadda. Zip. Zilch. No comprende español."

"What language was that?"

"It's the only sentence I know in Spanish. Wait, don't change the subject. You know you're never gonna find anything by just randomly flyin' around."

"I don't hear you giving any other suggestions."

"I am. It's called: Let's stop. Seriously, we're not gonna get anywhere like this." Kurohi was steadily losing his cool. "It's been a week, and no one has seen exoskeleton nor carapace of that thing. The chances of us seeing it again are probably close to 1000/1."

Kurohi had barely finished speaking when a several screaming Digimon barreled down the path behind him.

Linkmon looked past the flat screen with Kurohi's face on it. "That looks suspicious. Should we see what caused the commotion? Kurohi?"

Kurohi had his face in his hands.

"Kurohi, are you alright?"

"Can I have a minute? I am lamenting the fact that I'm gonna have another sleepless night."

"You can have 10 seconds."

"Fine, let's go mood killer."

They rounded the corner only to find the entrance to a community server. On normal occasions, it was a no-entry zone for Illegals, but it seemed like now would be best a time as any to check and see what kind of mess was going on inside. Only pausing for a moment, the two of them fazed through the portal.

* * *

As they entered the server, nothing seemed out of place. There was no sign of a fight, no Digitama, no creepy wide-eyed data-corpses, no nothing. The data screens, the reception counter, the jokingly placed cafe tables; nothing seemed out of place. In fact, everything looked painstakingly clean. In fact the room seemed oddly...

"Something feels off."

"I agree. I can't quite put my claw on it, but something about this room is definitely...strange. It's like someone's put..."

"A mirror up against your face?"

"Basically."

The room was perfectly symmetrical. If you stared straight ahead, you could see that the left and right sides of the room matched up perfectly to the pixel. Upon closer inspection, one of the tables had been sliced perfectly down the middle, and one side was placed on either end of the room.

"I know it's been a while since I've been in one of these, but I'm pretty sure that they aren't normally like this."

Linkmon caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye. "Kurohi!" He jumped at it to get a better view. The creature that stood before him could only be described as bizarre. It had a scrunched canine face, a gorilla arm, inverted knees, and a single bat-like wing. It was covered in a mess of green and pink fur, except for its stomach, which was bright yellow. The thing looked at the newcomers with confusion. "Another one!"

"Wait, Link-!" Before Kurohi could call him back, Linkmon had again jumped at the creature, which narrowly dodged his claw attack. The creature, in turn, swung at Linkmon with its gorilla fist, knocking him sideways. Link steadied himself in midair and rebounded off the wall, again narrowly missing his intended target. Fortunately, his momentum carried him past the creature and to a distance safe from a counterattack.

Kurohi suddenly received an obnoxious ping from his speakers, alerting him that he had just received a new e-mail, but chose to ignore it. Assisting Linkmon was more important.

The creature went on the offensive, throwing a veritable display of one-two punches, which Linkmon had difficulty dodging, due to the difference in its arms' length. Taking a chance, he caught its ape fist in both clawed hands and proceeded to throw it across the room. It looked like it was going to hit the opposite wall, but with a few twitches of its wing, it managed to right itself and land on its feet.

As all this was happening, Kurohi had received another three e-mails. Getting fed up with his computer's high pitched whine, he quickly turned away from the match to see what was so goddamned important. All four of them were from the same sender; someone named Melor Lukyanenko.

Linkmon was sent flying by another swift punch from his attacker, landing near a small cluster of ornamental tables. In his frustration at losing the fight, he picked up one of the nearby tables and...

"Eeep!" The creature let out a high-pitched girly shriek, leaving Link paralyzed in a state of pure astonishment. "Ah, no, put it back please, yes? I 'ave only jyust feeneeshed alighning them perfectly."

Linkmon's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Please, could you jyust return eet to eets proper place, then we can continue our fight."

"You can talk?"

His opponent looked confused. "Of course I can talk. I am fluent in Russian, Japanese, and English."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Linkmon was getting flustered now. "You're like that thing, right!? That thing that's been killing Digimon! How is it that you can talk!?"

"Because he's a Digimon." Kurohi had reentered the conversation. "Isn't that right, Melor?" His call seemed to echo out to nowhere, but was answered by the appearance of another vid-screen.

Depicted on it was the face of a teenager with sandy brown hair. His brown eyes seemed to echo a deep melancholy, and weren't focused on anything in particular. Kurohi recognized the sound of tapping on a keyboard before an electronic voice answered his question. "_You are correct. This is my Digimon partner, Misceomon._"

Kurohi was the next one to join the cue of 'mildly confused faces'. "Uh...What's with the robot voice?"

"_I cannot speak Japanese, so I am using a program I created to translate my text as speech._"

"Melor ees an amazing programmer." Misceomon beamed proudly. "He'd have to be to create sometheeng as amazeeng as me." He patted his chest with his big fist.

Ignoring the boastfully mismatched Digimon, Kuruohi continued his questioning. "But how can you understand me then?"

"_Another program. It works the same way, but converts speech __to speech._"

"Then why don't you use that, instead of typing?"

There was a drawn out silence, punctuated by the fidgety movements of a very confused and disgruntled Linkmon. "_It's just easier._"

"I'll take your word for that then."

"Can we get back to the matter at hand!?" Linkmon had obviously had enough of their seemingly calm post-battle banter. "So you're not like it, fine; then why was everyone running away from here?"

Misceomon pondered this for a moment. "Perhaps...Eet could be the same reason as you. You attacked me because you thought I was a...What deed you call eet? A Deegeemon eater? They may have thought the same."

"And the table? What was the thing about the table?"

Misceomon looked somewhat embarrassed. "Well, everytheeng was so deesorganized, and I had jyust feeneeshed tidyeeng up the place when you came een and we had our little...skirmish?"

Linkmon was still not convinced.

"_Misceomon has obsessive-compulsive disorder._" Both Linkmon and Kurohi were a little taken aback by the sudden comment; half due to the brashness at its delivery and half due to its unlikeliness. "_He __likes things __symmetrical__._"

Misceomon scratched the back of his head. "Nobody is perfect."

The sudden rush of superfluous information make Linkmon feel like his data-brain was going to short out. "Kurohi?"

"Yea?"

"Why are we here again? We should be out hunting. If he's not like the other one, then we should go looking for it, not stand here idly chatting." It was very apparent that he was confused and frustrated.

"You're right." Kurohi turned his attention to the bizarre couple before them. "I'm sorry for all the trouble we've caused you, but we have to be going. Things to do; you know how it is."

"Ah before you go." Misceomon seemed to have something to add. "Would you mind exchanging e-mails? Not often you meet another eellegal runneeng around."

Kurohi hadn't honestly considered that. Misceomon was an Illegal, just like Linkmon. That label meant that they weren't necessarily the most popular team either. Finding another exile might seem like a godsend to some. He smiled. "Sure, but I think your Tamer already has mine, somehow."

After a few minutes of exchanging goodbyes, the two set off on their hunt again.

* * *

It was late. Really late. So late that Kurohi was considering ditching his classes the next day.

"Today was a waste. We didn't manage to accomplish anything at all, and that creature is still out there, somewhere."

Kurohi peered over at his monitor from his bed and pondered Linkmon's words. "Actually, I think we accomplished something pretty important today."

"Oh, and what might that be? Meeting that bizarre team and wasting precious time when we should have been searching?"

"Gaining allies."

Linkmon was silent. Whether he thought that Melor and Misceomon could be potential allies or not, Kurohi didn't know. He didn't even know himself, but the thought was a perusable one. Maybe he'd try contacting Melor tomorrow.

"Goodnight, Link."

"Goodnight, Kurohi."


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4: Mischief; Mayhem; Music

The old man in front of Kurohi's counter was rambling on about something or other. His elderly wife was looking at him with faces reflecting both embarrassment and annoyance. To be honest, this was basically the highlight of his last few days. It'd been a few weeks since the last attack, and with no sightings of the bug monster that was currently plaguing the internet. Link had finally settled down a little.

"My wife thinks I should get a toupee. Says my hairline's been thinin' too much lately. What do you think?"

Kurohi took one look at the man's forehead, and turned to the man's wife. "The customer is always right." He gave her a curt nod, to which she chuckled. The old man didn't seem to get it. Right before they left, the old woman dropped a few few hundred Yen in Kurohi's tip jar.

* * *

"So Knight-sama, art thou ready to vanquish thine insectoid foe?" It was dark. Kurohi was talking to Linkmon on the cold walk home.

"Your patronizing is noted."

"Oh, but you were so gung-ho about finding it. Where'd all that energy go?"

Linkmon did not answer.

"Well, do you want to do something else tonight? We could try and find a new arena that'll let us in, or we could ring up Melor and Misceomon and see what they're up to."

"Don't they live in a different time zone?"

"Well yea, but it's Russia. It's like two hours back or something, so it should be fine, right?"

"It'll only be fine if that gorilla keeps his hands to himself."

"...Y'know Link, you gotta work on your people skills a bit. We have friends now."

"I do not need friends."

"Not even me?" Kurohi put up a big pair of teary puppy-dog eyes.

Linkmon just looked at his childish expression with his jaw slightly agape. "I'm beginning to think so."

* * *

"Hey Melor, what's up?"

"_Hello Kurohi. We do not have anything going on at the moment._" He still wouldn't look Kurohi in the eyes, which he found a little unnerving.

"Well, you and Misceomon wanna do something then?"

"_Such as what? Have you received any information on the creature you have been searching for?_" Honestly, this kid was supposed to be younger than him, yet he was all business no pleasure.

"No, we haven't, but that wasn't what I meant by 'do something'. I thought we could hit up an arena or something."

"_Misceomon and I do not normally participate in arenas. Most Tamers do not take kindly to Illegals._"

"No duh. I meant a Hackers' arena. Have you ever been to one?"

"_No, I have not. I do not know where to find them._"

"It's easy. All ya gotta know is who to talk to. So, interested?"

"_I see no reason why we couldn't go. Where should we have our Digimon meet up?_"

"Hold on, I'll send you the address of the site."

A few minutes later, after winding down their video conference, the two Digimon met outside a popular American stock exchange site.

"Thees the place, comrade?" Misceomon seemed to be in good spirits. His apish arm was wrapped affectionately around Linkmon's neck.

"Yes, it is. Now if you wouldn't mind please stop suffocating me!" He forced the green limb off, and hurried inside, having his associate follow him in short time. It didn't take them long to find who they were looking for, either. Bazaarmon was humming to himself as he perused one of the boards in front of them, only turning around when they were within a few meters of him.

"Ah, Sahib Linkmon. It is so good to see you again so soon. And it appears you have brought along a new customer for me as well. I do thank you kindly." He extended a feather claw to Misceomon. "How do you do, Sahib. I am Bazaarmon. I deal in the information trade."

"Pleasure's all mine. Name's Misceomon." He took his wing in hand and shook vigorously, disorienting Bazaarmon slightly.

"You are quite strong Sahib Misceomon. I would be very greatful if you do not ruffle my feathers too much now." After being released, he patted down his matted plumage. "Well now, if you have come to see me, Sahib Linkmon, then you are seeking my services, correct? What may I assist you with today?"

Linkmon responded quickly, very much wanting to avoid prolonged exposure to rancid poultry. "We're just looking for a Hackers' arena. Perhaps you could give us the location of one that's gotten a lot of traffic lately?"

"Ah, yes, I know just the one, but as you are well aware, Sahib Linkmon, my information is not free."

Misceomon, as if finally picking up on the tension between the two of them, eyed the situation nervously. "And what kind of payment do you accept? Money?"

Bazaarmon chuckled. "Oh, no, no Sahib Misceomon. No, I don't deal with such trivial things. The value of money ebbs and flows like the tides. I am an information dealer, and such is what I trade for. If you want my information, you must also give me yours."

Linkmon snorted. "And what do you want today? I could captivate you with a story of one of Kurohi's drunken escapades."

Bazaarmon waved his wing at him as thou to gust the information away. "I do appreciate the offer, Sahib Linkmon, but I have already accepted two such stories of your Tamer, and while they do bring a chuckle to my beak, valuable they are not." He turned his attention to the confused and misshapen Digimon beside Linkmon. "But I must say that I am quite curious about you, my friend. Perhaps you might be able to supply me with a suitable payment."

Linkmon moved quickly to stand before Misceomon.

"Is something wrong, Sahib Linkmon?"

A very serious expression now caked Linkmon's face. "I know what it is you want...and it is not something that some are willing to surrender lightly."

Misceomon looked very confused. He couldn't make heads or tail of what the two of them were talking about. "Uh...What is it that he wants, comrade?"

"The one thing that separates we Illegals from other Digimon..."

"Your birth, Sahib Misceomon."

"Pardon? I'm sorry, but I can't really follow what the two of you are talkeeng about."

"Your birth, Sahib Misceomon, your origin, your creation, your coming into being. It is something Illegals have that no other Digimon can ever hope to possess, and it is something that some would pay a high price for." He cleared his face of his devilish smile that seemed to have crept upon his face without his knowledge during his explanation. He coughed once. "It is my proposed payment. If you wish to barter with something else, you may."

Linkmon glanced at his associate nervously, only to find him seemingly without care in the world. "Ees that all? It's not a very eenteresteeng story, but if you want to hear eet... Basically, my Tamer created me from a lot of scrap data he collected from the eenternet. He compiled eet all together, tweaked a beet here or there, and here I am." He ended it bluntly. Linkmon was rather shocked at how easily he was able to deliver it.

"That was...quite the tale, Sahib Misceomon." Bazaarmon wore a sour face that made it very aware that he had gotten the raw end of the deal. "We had an agreement. Here is the site address." He handed a memo pad icon to Misceomon. "I suggest you hurry over there. I received word a little before you arrived of an interesting little disturbance there, but if you wish to know more, I suggest you make haste. Come again Sahib Misceomon, Sahib Linkmon."

* * *

"Remind me again why we couldn't go with them?" Kurohi was leaning back while trying to send a telekinetic message to Melor about how bored he was.

"_Because if your informant is being observed by those in power, than I do not want them to know that I am Misceomon's Tamer._"

"Wow, dude, that's harsh. I know he looks a little mismatched, but you should take some credit in your work."

Melor still averted eye contact with him. Kurohi could hear him clicking away at his keyboard. "_That is not what I meant._"

Before Kurohi could retort, two specks in the distant caught his eye. One black and one neon pink. It was obviously their partners. "Yo Link, how'd it go?"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

He stared interestedly at Linkmon for a for seconds more before completely ignoring him. "Yo Misceo, how'd it go?"

The Digimon put a clawed finger to his chin and scratched it. "Hmm. He was an eenteresting person. He said sometheeng about a deesterbance at the site address. Eet Might be a good idea to hurry there."

Ignoring Linkmon's furious glares, Kurohi gave a bemused chuckle. "Lead the way."  
They had been traveling to the address for over 10 minutes, with Linkmon still refusing to speak to anyone.

* * *

"Wanna talk about it, Link?"

"No, not particularly."

"Want me to get Misceomon to tell me what happened?"

"I just hate that creepy little bird."

"I'm sure that's not all of it."

Linkmon was silent again. His face had switched from anger to somber. He stared at the wall before he answered. "My creation story is morbid."

"...Oh." Kurohi couldn't really say anything else. It was a tough subject for them to discuss, even without two people they didn't really know within earshot. "Sorry."

"Well, if anything, at least it sounds cooler than. Misceomon's. He's literally made of garbage." Linkmon cracked the first smile Kurohi had seen him make in a while. It was infectious enough to get him smiling as well, and the two of them eventually broke out into a laugh.

Misceomon, who was only a little ways ahead of them, was not that happy about them laughing at his expense.

* * *

"Singapore?" They had reached their destination after only a few more minutes of travel, and Kurohi was in a state of bewilderment. "The arena's in Singapore?"

"Eet's what the address said."

"_It makes sense. There are no direct branches of the company within Singapore, so its internet is policed less. It would be the perfect place to hide an arena._"

"Oh. Yea, I knew that." He didn't. "But it's kinda disappointing that we're not there in person. Singapore's got some crazy awesome buildings, tons of resorts, and more hot babes than you can shake a mere-lion at." That last comment earned him 'the look' from his digital companions and a distinctive twitch from his web-cammed cohort.

Trying to get the conversation back to the matter at hand, Misceomon pushed forward. "I think I can see eet. We should be there een less than a meenu-" Misceomon's voice was cut off by a distant explosion. It was coming from the direction they were heading. Without a word, the four mismatched companions hurried to find its source.

When they were finally close enough to get a clear view, all they could see was a scurrying nest of Illegal Digimon. They were all minor edits; Digimon in alternate color schemes, Digimon with tattoos, Digimon with arms or wings from other Digimon; more customized Digimon than new ones. It was the typical type of crowd one would find at an arena, other than the scurrying. Seeing as an original Digimon like Linkmon or Misceomon were rare amongst the rare, finding one in a place like this would be a one-in-a-million shot. But they did. There was one original Illegal floating above the crowd, raining fire deletion on those below him from a large cannon-like program perched on his shoulder. He was a tiny Digimon, most likely a child level. He wore a black tuxedo on his slightly chubby body, complete with bow tie and cumber bun. His head looked like a black 1/8 music note, noted Kurohi who still remembered those grueling days in middle school.

Next to the musical Digimon was an image of a young blonde girl. She was cackling madly, and berating the other Digimon in English. "HAHAHA! That's right! Run, weaklings, run for your lives!"

Kurohi watched over the scene, his face stoic and emotionless. He could only hold that expression for about ten seconds before the smile began to form. "Now this is a party." He turns to his three companions. "Who wants to hit the dance floor?" Linkmon was furling and unfurling his wings, while Misceomon was cracking his gorilla knuckles. They were obviously just as itchy as Kurohi was. "How 'bout it, Melor?"

They all silently anticipated the boy's response with baited breath. "_Let's cut a rug, Kurohi._"

"A'ight!" Kurohi suddenly felt like he had more energy than he had had all week. "Link, we're gonna smash that program. Melor, we'll buy you some time to boost up then left-side pincer. Everyone ready?"

"Ready."

"Standeeng by."

"_Activating programs._"

"Let's move, Link!"

Linkmon and Misceomon split up, the former charging straight at their target, while the latter strafed to the left, moving through the crowd and avoiding being seen. It didn't take any time at all for the unknown Digimon and his partner to notice Linkmon's approach. It turned its cannon program at the oncoming reptile and let loose its fury. Unfurling his wings, Linkmon was easily able to dodge the lasers with his enhanced speed. Unable to find his mark, the musical Digimon balanced the gun on its shoulder and moved to touch a strange pattern running down its left arm. Just as it was about to make contact, however, a giant pink and green gorilla fist made contact with its circular head, sending it reeling across the space.

The little girl started yelling angrily at the two assaulting Tamers. "Hey, hey, hey! Two on one is cheating! No fair!"

Kurohi, knowing Melor wasn't about to make a comeback, did instead (in English). "Says the brat who brought a cannon to a brawl? Baka~"

The girl was red in the face. "Shut up! I'm gonna totally kick you ass! Sopranomon!"

The chubby butler straightened his bow tie and righted himself. "Yes, Milady?"

"Digivolve to Champion Level and kick their asses!"

Kurohi went on the verbal offensive again. "What? I thought you said that you were gonna do it. Instead you're gonna your chunky little man-servant to do it for you? Guess the little Ojou-sama can't back up her words."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut! Up!" Her face was tomato red from ear to ear now.

Her calm Digimon, on the other hand, just gave a slight cough. "Excuse me good sir, but I would like to point out that I am not, as you said, 'chunky'. I will admit that I am a bit rotund around the waste, but as I am a data being, there is nothing I can do to change this."

"Ah." Kurohi was a little taken aback. He gave the Digimon a small bow. "I'm terribly sorry, it wasn't my intention to insult your feelings. I hope you will accept my apology."

Sopranomon gave a bow as well. "It is no trouble, good sir. Your apology is accepted with much gratitude."

The little girl's head was flailing back and forth as she was switching comically from staring at her Digimon and Kurohi. "Oy, what the hell are you two doing!? We're supposed to be fighting!"

"Just because we're fighting doesn't mean we can't be civilized. But maybe you're too young to understand that, Ojou-sama."

Kurohi's retort made her go from red to purple. "I'll show you civilized!"

_Program Activated – Evolution_

"_Sopranomon, digivolve to-_" Sopranomon was surrounded by the usual light the preceded a Digimon's evolution. "_-Mezzomon!_"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Um..." He looked exactly the same. "You did shinka, right?"

Their enemy tossed her head back and let out a malevolent cackle, which eventually quited down to nothing (thou she remained in mid-laugh pose). "...Hey." She turned her head to Kurohi. "What's shinka?"

Kurohi paused. "Um...In english it's...evolve, right?" He turned to Melor to back up his claim.

"_Correct._"

"Oh. Yea, he digivolved." She gave a small cough before returning to her raucous laughing. "Now, Mezzomon, attack!"

"Yes, milady." He pulled out a trumpet and pressed it to his mouth-less face. "_Crescendo Tone!_" A rain of orange music notes burst out of the instrument and darted toward the other two Digimon. Linkmon was having difficulty dodging them all, even with his speed. Misceomon was faring far worse, using only his natural defenses to repel the shower.

Kurohi called out to Melor through the chaos. "Hey, Melor. If she's gonna step up her game, then I think we should, too."

"_I couldn't agree more._"

"Alright! It's time to go big or go home!"

_Program Activated – Evolution  
Program Activated – Evolution_

"Linkmon, evolve to-  
Misceomon, evolve to-"

The two were surrounded by swirling light. As their temporary cocoons fell away, the two monstrous Digimon, one black and one dark pink, prepared to enter the battle once more.

_"-Jackmon!  
-Editusmon!"_

Kurohi took a brief moment to scan over his ally's adult form, as he hadn't seen it before. He was nearly twice the size of Misceomon. His colors had dulled slightly, now a more dark pink and green, rather than their previous screaming neon, and were a little more proportional (but just a little). His face was a little more dog-like than before, and his one wing had grown out to normal size. Overall, a very cool Frankenstein of a Digimon.

The two giant Digimon charged at Mezzomon, flanking left and right as to avoid both of them taking a frontal assault. The musician, however, didn't try to attack the either of them. With a wave of his hand his trumpet disappeared to be replaced by a flute. He placed the instrument to his non-existent lips and shouted. "_Time Tempo!_"

Both Jackmon and Editusmon slowed to a stop.

"What's up, Jackmon?"

"I...I can't...move..."

"Our bodees...Eet's like they won't...leesten..."

"Haha, of course you can't!" They all redirected their attention back to the one girl amongst them. "Mezzmon's Time Tempo can slow down the processing speed of any Digimon. You're helpless to stop us now!" She directed her undivided attention to Kurohi. "So, are you going to surrender? If you beg me, I might just let your Digimon go."

A tiny laugh escaped Kurohi's lips. It kept escalating, like he was laughing at a really amusing joke. "You know, when I made Linkmon, I didn't do any of the normal stuff." The girl's faced reflected her confusion. Melor seemed to be staring intently at Kurohi's shoulder. "I didn't increase his strength, or made him lightning fast. I didn't give him a range of attacks or a variety of evolutions." He raised his eyes to meet the girl's bewildered ones. "But what I did give him..." He raised his DP. "Was crazy processing speed." He slid his thumb up the screen dramatically. "Program activate!"

_Program Activated – Natural Prominence_

The girl and Mezzomon both turned just in time to see Mezzomon vanish. The two looked around wildly for him. Jackmon appeared in front of Mezzomon in a burst of speed and socked him where his jaw should have been. The shock of being punched seemed to have broken the effects of his musical attack, as Editusmon regained his ability to move. Making up for lost time, he sped at the musical monster. "_Heavy Lariat!_" The inside of his gorilla arm struck Mezzomon's stomach. As the small Digimon went flying, he seemed to catch a second wind and steadied himself mid-flight, but was met with Jackmon's claws pointing menacingly toward his face. The two froze in a picturesque state of predator catching its prey.

"You offered us the chance to submit. It would only be fare to give you the same option."

Mezzomon seemed very nervous with his face surrounded by pointy fingers of death. "M-milady, if you'd please, I could use some assistance."

She looked over the scene with mixed looks of embarrassment and anger on her face. "C-can't you...I dunno..."

"Don't worry so much." Kurohi's demeanor wasn't boastful or arrogant. "Jackmon may act like that, but it's just an empty threat. There's no way he'd actually run him through."

Jackmon lowered his hand. He smiled. "Really, Kurohi, there's no need to go telling that to our opponent, now is there?"

Kurohi brushed off the comment with a smile of his own. "You can just leave if you want. We'll call it a draw."

The girl was quiet. Her silence hung in the air for a minute before answering. "How did you beat us?" By the tone of her voice, Kurohi could tell she wasn't angry.

"Natural Prominence is a program that ups a Digimon's natural abilities, like WarGreymon's Dramon Destroyers. Linkmon has a natural ability called Digital Slipstream which allows him to travel quickly through the internet, but not areas like arenas. I'm not a fan of cheating."

Again, she looked confused. "But you use an Illegal Digimon."

"I work with my partner. Nothing more, nothing less." Linkmon, now reverted, glided over to Kurohi's image. Misceomon did the same.

"You're really weird." Kurohi had heard that enough times for her comment to have not fazed him. Her arrogant attitude seemed to be building itself back up slowly. "Well, whatever. Remember, this was a draw. Next time you won't be so lucky." She and her Digimon turned and headed off in the direction of the exit. Just before she exited the area, she turned back. "Pop!"

"Nani?"

"My name is Pop. Remember that for next time, Kurohi!" And she disappeared.

* * *

Kurohi laid on his bed. "So, whadoya think, Link?"

"Think about what?"

"Our new troublesome friend."

Linkmon snorted. "I doubt she'd like you calling her that. I do approve of her partner, thou. I have a feeling we would get along."

"And what about Melor and Misceo?"

"What about them?"

"Has working together with them raised your opinions of them at all?" Kurohi could no longer see Linkmon on his computer screen, but he knew he was still there.

"I'm warming up to them."

He smiled. "Good to hear. I have a feeling we'll be seeing him a lot." He couldn't help thinking that they'd probably be seeing a lot of Pop, too, but he wasn't yet sure if that was a good thing or not. Only time would tell.

* * *

"Another report? What's this one about."

"There was a large exodus a Illegal Digimon in Singapore, Master. Apparently a class-3 illegal destroyed an arena there."

"Another class-3? We've been seeing a lot of them lately, haven't we? So? What's this got to do with us? It's out of our jurisdiction."

"Three class-3 Illegal Digimon in total were sighted at the arena. One of them was confirmed to be the Digimon from the China Virus Incident. The higher ups wish for you to investigate this Digimon and his connection to both the other class-3s, and the virus that appeared."

The woman stared at the image of a black Digimon on her computer screen. "Yea, yea, I got it. It's not like this kid is trying to hide himself too hard." She picked her coat off the back of her chair and threw it over her shoulder. "Time for the best part of the job, D'Arcmon."

"What would that be, Master?"

"Going home." She picked her DP up from next to her computer, and walked out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Episode 5: World; Wide; Waterlogged

"Ooo, this one's pink. It looks nice, but I wonder if it's a little too feminine. Oh, and this blue one has gold trim. It looks nice, too, but I feel like I'd get tired of looking at it after a while. What do you think Kurohi-kun?"

Kurohi stared at the back of the bleach-blond girl's head. "They're all exactly the same, Yumie-san." It had taken him four venomous stares and an actual konk to the forehead before he remembered to address her with honorifics. "They all do exactly the same thing. No matter what color you pick, you're probably still gonna end up with a Numemon."

She continued to sort through the different colors. "What's a Numemon?"

"It's the poop-throwing green slug people get when they're too mean to their Digimon."

She seemed insulted. "I'm not going to be mean to it."

"My forehead begs to differ."

The two of them were at a big electronics store. Amazingly, after explaining all the practical perks of owning a Digimon, Yumie(-san) had actually decided to get one. And so here he was, on his day off, bending to the every whim of the most nitpicky girl he had the misfortune of being friends with. She had just spent the last hour comparing all the colors they had in stock.

"If I'm going to be carrying this around with me everywhere, then I want to get it in a color that I like. I'm not like you; choosing a boring color like black."

"What's wrong with black?" He pulled out his own DP. "It's functional, doesn't show dirt or scuffs easily, and matches almost everything. Plus Linkmon is black. I always like getting a new casing that matches my Digimon's color scheme."

"Casing? You mean you can change out the casing?"

"Well, Yea..." Kurohi froze in place as he realized his folly. "We could've saved an hour if I'd just said that from the beginning, couldn't we?"

After another hour of Yumie choosing the ten colors she liked the most, they proceeded to the checkout.

As the cashier rang up her purchases, Kurohi noticed he kept shooting fervent glances at him. After he had handed her the receipt, he finally spoke up. "Um, would you happen to be Furijin Kurohi-san?"

Kurohi turned away as Yumie kept looking between him and the cashier. "Do you know each other Kurohi-kun?"

"I knew it was you!" He seemed very excited. "I'm a big fan. During the 2011 finals, Dukemon Crimson Mode versus Beelzebumon X; it was a match to die for."

"Th-thanks. I appreciate the support." Yumie was looking really confused at this point.

"Hey, you haven't entered any tournaments lately, right? When are you gonna start dominating the circuit again?"

Kurohi gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry, but my Digimon's data was...corrupted. It's gonna take me a while before I can train up a Digimon that can compete..."

"Oh, that's too bad." After a few more brief exchanges, Kurohi and Yumie left.

Yumie was heavily silent for a while. "So...are you famous Kurohi-kun?"

The question was a little embarrassing. "A little. Back before Link was my partner, I used to be a pretty big contender in competitive Digimon battles."

"I see." She seemed to understand the Kurohi didn't want to talk about it,and appreciated it when she changed the subject. "We're going over to Riko-chan's place now, right?"

"Yea. You know Endo Nobu? He's gonna be there, too. Apparently Riko got a cursed Blu-Ray or something and wants us to watch it together." The thought dumbfounded him a bit. "Seriously, who's ever heard of a cursed Blu-Ray?"

"Are you sure it's ok for me to come along? Riko-chan and I aren't really close."

"What's the matter? Afraid of scary movies?"

Her composure dropped in a instant. "But what if something jumps out of the screen at us!?"

Kurohi couldn't stop himself from laughing.

* * *

Kurohi's forehead was sore again as he helped Yumie and Riko open up her new DP.

"Hey, Kurohi." Riko was fiddling with some tape that got stuck to her fingers. "Explain the whole level thing again. I wasn't paying attention the first time."

"That's because you fall asleep whenever I say the word Digimon."

Riko fell backwards onto the couch. Her fake snoring filled the room.

"Hey, Nobu, I think you were wrong about that whole narcolepsy thing." After a light punch to the shoulder, Riko was back up-right and listening. "Alright, alright, it goes like this: When a Digitama hatches, it becomes a Baby I. Are you following so far?" He gave Riko a smug look.

"I'm still awake, aren't I?"

Yumie was now fiddling with her DP in her hand. "So after I turn it on, how long will it take before it hatches?"

"Eh~, on average it normally takes about five minutes. I've hatched three Digitama, and the longest one took around seven minutes. Longest seven minutes of my life."

Yumie giggled. "Is the suspense that bad?"

"Hey, it was egg number three. I was hoping my good luck streak would hold out. I got some pretty awesome Baby I Digis before that."

"Alright, alright." Riko was trying to wave him down. "Enough reminiscing, what comes after Baby I?"

"Baby II. It takes about an hour for a Baby I to evolve into a Baby II. That evolution's pretty straight forward, so most Baby I's will always evolve into the same Baby II."

Yumie had turned on her DP and was now staring down at her Digitama. "Um, what level is a Numemon?"

Kurohi smiled. It seemed his words had sunk in. "It's an adult level, and don't worry too much about that just yet. We've got one stage in between Baby II and Adult, and it's the one you'll be spending the most time as. Your Child level." He made a grand gesture along with his last line. As dramatic as he tried to make this statement seem, everyone was just staring at him like the nutter he knew he was. "What? It's a big deal."

"I'm not quite sure I understand." Nobu had entered the conversation. "Why is being a child more important than being an adult? And what do you mean about it being a child most of the time?"

"Well, this is actually where it starts getting a little more confusing."

"Uhg." Riko laid back on the couch. "This is so stupid."

"They're not stupid." For once, it wasn't Kurohi defending his digital disposition, but Yumie. "Kurohi-kun says that having a Digimon is really practical. They can check your e-mail for you, send texts in your stead, look up information, record shows; it's like you always have an extra set of hands while on the computer."

"She's right, Riko." Nobu's support was also a surprise. "I may not want a Digimon myself, but my dad's company bought Digimon for all its employees, and it's helped raise the companies efficiency rates."

"Eh! You, too, Nobu? You're supposed to be on my side." Riko was now quickly becoming pouty. "Being ganged up on in my own house..."

"Hey, you were the one who asked me to talk about this in the first place."

"Yea, and I'm already regretting it."

"Ah!" Yumie was suddenly jumping up and down. "It's hatching! It's hatching!" Both the boys crowded around either side of her to see. Even Riko perked up a bit. The little red and white egg on the screen kept shaking, cracks appearing across the middle. Once they had surrounded the entire egg, it popped open to reveal what looked like the head of a white teddy bear. "It's...it's so cute!" Yumie could not stand still.

"Bo?" The little ball looked up at her with happy curiosity.

She moved her finger over the touch screen, petting it. "And what's your name little guy?"

"Bo?"

"Yumie-san, Baby I Digimon normally can't talk, they just use the syllables in their names to make noise."

"Well, what is he? You're the expert here." She gave him a look like she was daring him to answer.

Kurohi had never bothered learning the names of all 20 something Baby I Digimon, but this was one of the few he actually could remember. "It's a YukimiBotamon. It generally evolves into ice or mammal themed Digimon."

Chilling music filled the room, quieting the three hovering over Yumie's DP. Riko had quietly booted up the movie while everybody had had their attentions elsewhere. The metallic font on the screen read "Rottweiler" in English, with subtitles below for those in the room who didn't know the language as well as Kurohi did. "It's scary movie time, people! So sit back, and don't piss on my couch."

It was a poorly dubbed movie about a _possessed_ robotic dog, hunting down an escaped convict and killing everyone in its path. The only exciting things that happened were a scene where the main character had his penis hanging out (which caused Riko to wolf whistle and Yumie to cover both her and her Digimon's eyes), Yumie's white puff ball turning into a green puff ball with a tail (Which had nothing to do with the movie), and a rather cool climax where the robot dog, with all its skin melting off, and the convict charge at each other while surrounded by fire.

"It was 'meh'." Kurohi wiggled his left hand as he said this. He couldn't use his right because Yumie was clutching it very tightly to her chest with her face buried into his shoulder. He could feel her breasts through his long-sleeve shirt. "Hey, Yumie-san?"

"Mmmm?"

"Could you please let go? I can guess your bra size right now."

"M mmm'm mmmm mmm."

Riko's eyes were jumping back and forth between the two of them with a malevolent grin on her face. "She says she doesn't want to."

"I understand muffled just fine, _thank you very much_." Kurohi could think of a dozen and a half ways to instantly get her off, but he had a theory, and this was the perfect opportunity to test it. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered. "You can hold onto me as long as you want...Yumi." She sat bolt upright, her face tomato red, and her eyes averted 100 degrees from his face. Bingo.

Riko had to put her hands over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. "Hey, lady killer? After that hour-and-a-half, not-worth-the-1200-yen distraction, I'm in the mood for you finish up your little teaching session you were givin' earlier. Ain't that right, Nobu?" Nobu had apparently fallen asleep during the movie. "Oy, honor student, it isn't like you to sleep through lectures." She slapped him on the shoulder, which woke him with a start.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his wrist. "Where am I?"

"In class. Furijin-sensei was just about to resume his lecture."

He blinked drearily a few times before looking around the room. He looked like he was still half asleep.

Kurohi decided he might as well get started, while Riko kept poking at the dazed Nobu. "So...we were on...Child levels, right?"

"Yyyyyup." Riko was still poking at the delirious Nobu, apparently amazed by his lack of a reaction.

"Ok. A Baby II will normally evolve into a Child after about 3 hours, and there's normally around two to five things a given Baby II will evolve into. Once it evolves into a Child, that'll be its permanent form for the time being, with a few exceptions." He turned his attention to Yumie who was craning her neck enough so that she could just barely look at him. "That Numemon you're so worried about it one of them. There are a couple really bad Adult levels that become permanent after evolving into them once." he started counting them on his fingers. "There's also all of Numemon's various recolors and redecos, Skumon and his like, and Tyumon. If you own one of those, you will be the butt of many a joke because, quite frankly, your Digimon looks like it came out of someone's butt." He let this last sentence hang in the air. Yumie looked horrified at the thought of having a poop themed Digimon. "In their defense, thou, PlatinumNumemon does look pretty cool, all things considered."

"I don't care what it's made of; I don't want some fecal Digimon that people are gonna make fun of me for." She clutched her DP close to her chest, making Kurohi think that, if it was a real Digimon, she'd be choking it between her cleavage if she did that.

He gave a short cough to clear his thoughts before continuing. "After about a day, you'll be given a notification that you can evolve to Adult. You can stay in that form for a while before your Digimon will time out and revert back to being a Child."

"Hmm, sooooo it's Babies I and II, Child, then Adult. Seems simple enough." Riko had given up poking Nobu, who was now back asleep, and resting on her shoulder. "Is there any way to stay as an Adult, besides getting a gross one?"

"Yea. After a year you'll be given the choice to have your Digimon perform a permanent evolution. It basically means that the evolution will never time out, and you have to forcefully revert. I always take that option when prompted." He mulled his hand around in the air a bit, like he was moving the words around in his head, looking for the right one. "It's sort of like a status symbol." He nodded a couple times before concluding. "And that's your basic levels. There are a few others, but you either have to train up your Digimon, or win event items to get them."

"Wow." Riko seemed shocked.

"Impressed and amazed?"

"No, I'm just surprised I didn't zone out during all that."

Kurohi and Yumie didn't stay long after that. With Nobu crashed on the couch, Riko waved them goodbye at the door as the two began walking in the direction of Yumie's house. She kept playfully petting her Nyaromon. "Hey, Kurohi-kun, you said there were other levels. What are those called?"

"Why? Thinking of taking up battling?"

"No, I'm just curious. If I'm going to raise a Digimon, then I think I should know more about them." She kept shooting him shy looks, like she was asking him something really personal.

"The others are...Perfect, Ultimate, Super Ultimate...Armor, Hybrid...and...Xros."

"And how high can Linkmon evolve? You've had him for six months, right?" She giggled a little, as if she could guess the answer. "I'm sure you can already evolve to the highes-"

"Adult."

Yumie stopped, looking a little puzzled. "I'm sorry?"

"He can evolve to Adult, and that's it."

She looked even more confused now. "But...You're you."

"That's a brilliant observation."

"No, I mean, you're a super famous Digimon battler, right? You've been training Digimon for years? And he can only evolve to Adult level? Is it that hard to get to the next level?"

Kurohi shrugged. "It's not that hard. It took me three days to evolve my Greymon into a MetalGreymon." Which was true. Whenever he had trained a Digimon before, he would always manage to get them to Ultimate by the end of their second week together or sooner. Which, now that he thought about it, was incredibly fast. "It took me even less time for WereGarurumon and MegaloGrowmon, too." He tried to recall how it was explained to him. "The ability to evolve to Adult is automatically programmed into every Digimon when it's created, since the branches of evolution are rather narrow up to that point. Once a Digimon has determined its evolutionary path, it deletes all non-essential data regarding that form."

Yumie was staring slack jawed.

"Did you get any of that?"

"You lost me somewhere around 'Metal'."

Kurohi massaged his temples. "Basically," he continued, "once a Digimon evolves to Child, it deletes all its data on the other Child Digimon it could have turned into. The same is true for every other form." He paused for a moment to confirm that she understood. "Perfect and Ultimate are different. They aren't built into a Digimon, but instead are downloaded from the system when certain criteria are met. The higher up a Digimon goes in its evolution, the more its path will branch. I'm actually surprised a DP can hold as much data as it can." He scratched his chin. "Thou it only has to for about a day, I guess."

Yumie stared at him intensely. So much so, in fact, that it was a little unnerving. "So why can't you two evolve then?"

"Because we're not connected to the system." His response was very nonchalant. Sure, it did bug him a bit at first, but he'd gotten over the fact that they couldn't evolve a long time ago. Jackmon was strong enough to fight off any Perfect level and most Ultimates, so there really wasn't any need to try and go higher.

"Why aren't you connected to the system?"

"We just aren't. It's how it's always been for us." He stopped. Yumie, who was now lost in her own thoughts, kept walking without noticing. Kurohi had to call out to her to get her to turn around. "We're here." The two of them were standing in front of a traditional Japanese home. The front gates were unlocked, most likely expecting their mistress' return.

"Oh." She looked rather embarrassed that she overlooked her own house. "Thank you for escorting me home." She gave him a small bow, pushed the gates open, and walked in, but turned around before closing them. "Um, it's rather late. If you'd like, you could...sleep here tonight..."

* * *

There was a loud splash as the young man jumped into the canal. That was an easily pocketed 5 euros. As he sunk down, enjoying the refreshing chill of the water after running around town, he spotted something glimmering at the bottom, slightly buried by the tide. He swam down and picked it up.

It was a piece of electronic equipment. It kind of looked like a touch screen cellphone. The English letters 'DP' were tampoed on the top margin above the screen.

He surfaced and pulled himself out of the water. As he sat there sun drying, he took a closer look at his find.

From behind him, he could hear his friend running up. "Man, I didn't think you'd actually do it. You've got bigger balls then me, I'll tell you that." He stopped, seeing that his friend was obviously more interested in whatever he was holding in his hand. "What'cha got there, Ricker?"

Ricker was still looking it over. "I think it's one of those Digimon things. 'Digimon Pad' or some weird, bad name like that." He hit the power button on the side.

_Bwee Bweep_

* * *

Kurohi hated sleeping on a mat. They reminded him of when he visited his grandparents and had to sleep on one in his Oji-sama's study...with all those taxidermied animal heads. He shivered at the thought.

He was staying in Yumie's guest room. Unlike what his imagination led him to believe, she really was just worried about him walking home at night. He probably wouldn't have accepted if he'd known his head would be filled with marble-eyed deer.

"Hey, Link, you up?" He wanted to distract himself, so talking to his silent partner seemed like as good an idea as any.

"I do not require sleep. You know that very well."

"Yea, I do, but it's still polite to ask." He stared up at the ceiling. "Sorry you didn't get much screen time today."

Linkmon scoffed. "This isn't some television show trying to appeal to its audience, Kurohi. I understand that you have a life that I am not a part of. We spend plenty of time together, and trying to fit me into your real life, your life amongst your friends and family, isn't possible for me from behind this screen. So don't worry about it." He was trying very hard to be both aloof about the whole thing and reassuring at the same time.

"Even if we talked a lot about Digimon today?"

"The only times you did you were surrounded by humans or Digimon who'd recognize what I was. Even a child like your friend's would have known."

"Yea, I guess you're right." Kurohi felt somewhat depressed. Most of his conversations today had had some sad undertones. It was starting to get annoying how sad he got whenever he reminisced about his past with Digimon. "So, wha'do'ya think, Link?"

"Think about what?"

"She's totally into me."

"Not that you'll do anything about it, thou." He yawned and curled up in a ball, even thou Kurohi couldn't see him. Even if he didn't need sleep, it never hurt to do so.

"That's cold, bro."

Kurohi could faintly see stars outside the window. They were a very familiar shade of blue.


	6. Chapter 6

Episode 6: Gondolas; Glitches; Glimmer

_Beep beep beep_

Kurohi sighed. There was a 95% chance that this txt was from the same person who sent the other nine texts he'd gotten that day. He checked his DP just to make certain, and sure enough, Yumie had sent him another picture of her quote unquote "adorable" Mikemon. He sighed again.

Classes were boring, and he couldn't seem to get in touch with Melor, and there were still no signs of that bug thing. He had even grown tired of porn; a mathematical impossibility. And now look at him: looking at pictures of his friend's Digi-cat for entertainment. He'd give anything to alleviate the monotony for just a min-

"Kurohi." Linkmon was staring down at him with a pitiful look from his computer monitor. "You look really bored."

"Yeeeaaa."

Linkmon switched his tab over to the Digimon Official Forums. "I've found an interesting thread that I thought you might want to take a look at."

Kurohi lifted his head off his desk and started to read. Started and failed. "Link, I don't even know what language this is."

"It's Italian."

"Is that even a real language?"

Linkmon frowned before moving up to the corner of the screen and hit the button that looked like a big capital 'T'. Another tab opened up, this time in Japanese. "You have a translate button. Just because you're bored does not mean you can act like a child."

Kurohi massaged his temples. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just a little out of it. Gimme a sec to switch back to my normal mind set." After a few more seconds of massaging, he flicked his fingers into the air, as if to say 'it is done'.

He started reading.

_Hey, I don't know much about Digimon, yadda yadda yadda, I found this Digivice thing, yadda yadda, I can't find what it is, so here's a pic...ture..._

Kurohi stopped. "What the hell is that?" The Digimon in question looked like a red dodge ball with a face and covered in green tear drops. It looked like it was slouching, with its arms and legs seemingly folding out of its body. "Dude...just what..."

"Kurohi, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yea. That is the dumbest Illegal I've ever seen."

Linkmon gaped at him like he was a moron. "Are you a moron, Kurohi." He shook his head in disappointment. "Are you forgetting the time we fought against the Tamer with a MagmaNumemon? That was definitely dumber than this."

"Yea, that dude should've chosen a better place to rip his textures from." Kurohi circled his mouse around the circumference of the ball Digimon. "All joking aside, what were you actually thinking?"

"I was thinking that we should go check this out in person. It seems as if he acquired this Digimon by chance. It might be a good idea to find him first, before he gets himself in trouble."

"The good citizen bit, huh? Not like we've got anything else to do. We're gonna need to back trace his IP."

"Already finished. It's quite simple when you have the right tools." He wagged his tail.

"Always gotta be one step ahead. So, where we sailin' off to?"

"Venice, Italy."

* * *

A joyful little beep emitted from Ricker's computer, signaling that he just got mail. He peeked out from under his arm, the image of a tiny red figure waving at him reflected in his hazel eye. He jerked up off his bed, which wasn't hard, since his feet were already hanging off the bottom, and walked over to his tiny desk, ruffling his brown hair to try and knock some of the sleep out of him. He sat down, opened the e-mail, and started to read it. Started and failed. "Is this Japanese? How am I supposed to read this? Who even sent it?" He wasn't talking to anyone in particular. In fact, he had already forgotten that there was someone else in the room to listen.

_Beep beba beep da deep_! The tiny ball Digimon dropped down from the top of the screen and perched himself on the bottom of the e-mail window. He smacked the squiggly symbols twice with his hand to select them all, and then they changed into Italian.

"Uh...cool. Thanks Rollermon."

The little Digimon happily saluted.

Ricker began to read the now-legible e-mail.

_Hey, I think I know what's up with that Digimon, yadda yadda yadda, it's easier to talk face-to-face, yadda yadda, here's my IM address..._

Before he had even finished reading, a blinking yellow light appeared on his task bar. When he clicked it, it maximized into a young man's face. "ヨ. を使用すると、Digimonの人か?"

Ricker had no idea what he just said. "Che cosa ha detto?"

Kurohi had no idea what he just said. "Umm...Do you speak english?"

"Yes..."

"Okay, let me try this again. 'Yo. Are you the guy with the Digimon?'"

"Is this about that forum post?"

"Yea. You're the guy with the red ball Digimon, right?"

"That's me, but..." He eyed Kurohi suspiciously. "I took that post down because people kept saying really nasty things to me."

"Stuff like 'Cheater', 'Illegal', and 'fluffy bunny'?"

"Why was everyone cal-ling me that!?" His suspicions changed to exasperation in the blink of an eye. "Is that some kind of weird Digimon slang, or something? Is the worst Digimon in existence cal-led FluffyBunnymon?"

Kurohi was having a hard time not laughing at this outburst. "No the worst Digimon in existence is MagmaNumemon."

"Then why was everyone cal-ling me that?" He looked angrily confused. Better than confusedly angry, in Kurohi's opinion.

"Whenever someone tries to post a swear word on the official forums, it gets replaced with the phrase 'fluffy bunny'. I guess you could say it _is_ a form of Digimon slang." Kurohi clapped his hands together to symbolize the end of the tangent. "Would you like to know why everyone was saying those things about you?"

"Only if you think I'm not a fluf-fy bun-ny."

"No. I think you're either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky. Can I see your Digimon?"

The ball Digimon appeared in the window containing the Italian. He waved cheerily and beeped a few times.

"This is him. I don't think he can talk, so I just call him 'Rollermon'." He nodded his head a bit, as if approving something. "I like him. Everybody else hates him. Why?"

"Because he's an Illegal Digimon."

"I have no idea what that means."

"It means that..." How was he going to explain this? "...It means he wasn't created by the company. He was created through some other means."

"But I didn't make him. I just found him. How is that pos-sible?"

"Well, you apparently won the one-in-a-billion lotto of getting a working Glitch Digimon. Those haven't existed since the days of the original Digital Monster keychain toys." He gave the man a small golf clap. "Bravo. Not as cool as making one yourself, like me, but it still comes with bragging rights."

He started wildly waving his hands. "Wait, one moment, what did you say? Like you? You have a fake Digimon?"

"We are not 'fake', we are 'illegal'." Linkmon appeared on the other side of Kurohi's window, showing that he had arrived at the guy's PC. "It is a term that came from the fact that we are not among the legal competitive Digimon allowed in tournaments."

"And people apparently hate us for it." Kurohi threw in the last bit with a fake smile.

"No kid-ding. I've had mine for a day, and the internet already hates me." He tapped the screen of his computer overtop of Rollermon.

"So, what'll you do, knowing all this?"

"I don't know. I don't really even like Digimon to begin with." Kurohi let out a low groan, which seemed to upset the Italian. "What?"

"Naw, it's just...People who aren't into it have a tendency to say a lot of tactless things without realizing it, and I'm just bracing myself." Kurohi rubbed his temples a bit. "I'd just like to know what you plan on doing with the little guy."

He thought about it. It was a few minutes before he responded. "I don't know. I'm really busy with school, and work, and football, and everything, so I don't really have the time. Could you take him?"

Kurohi had a feeling he'd ask that. "I've got my hands full with just one Illegal. I know it's not easy balancing school, work, and a social life with Digimon, but it's not unmanageable."

"Well, couldn't I just del-le-"

"If you finish that sentence I will punch you through the screen!" This was what Kurohi had been dreading. People who didn't know about Digimon didn't get it, and it was the thing that always pushed him over the edge whenever it was brought up. "Deleting a Digimon is not like deleting the save file on a video game." He was speaking through gritted teeth to stop himself from yelling again. "They are intelligent. They have emotions and memories, and deleting them is equivalent to killing a human." Kurohi was desperately trying to calm _himself_ down. "Look, just...Sorry."

"No, it's alright." He wasn't angry or upset at Kurohi's outburst. If anything, he was the one who looked sorry. "I get it. I wouldn't do that to the lit-tle guy. I was just put-ting it out there." He picked up his DP and fiddled with it. "Guess I'm now the proud owner of an Il-legal Digimon, eh?" He shot a small smile across the screen, which was returned by his Japanese conversation partner.

"Welcome to the club. We now have four members." He prepared an internet fist bump. "I'm Kurohi, the resident Goggle-Head."

His fist bump was received and reciprocated. "Ricker. Ace football player at Venice International University, and technological anti-Christ."

* * *

"Why did'ja call me?" Pop did not look very happy.

"'Cause Melor's asleep."

Kurohi, Ricker, and Pop were in the middle of a low-traffic internet highway in Portugal, for no other reason then it was half-way between the later twos' houses. All around them, hundreds of different file icons were whizzing past in a myriad of lights and colors, each heading to their downloader's computers.

"So? It's dhe weekend. You think I don't have anything better to do than hang oud widh you and some noob you picked up?"

"Probably not. I mean, you are here."

Her red eyes flashed menacingly. "Don' try to psycho-analyze me! You should be gradeful dhat I'd even grace you widh my presence; especially on such short nodice! Dhere are a hundred differend things I could be doing righd now, but instead I chose to spend my time helping you babysit some wanna-be Tamah!"

"Um..." Ricker, who had silently watched this back-and-forth with the Digimon for a few minutes, finally spoke up. "What-"

"Shud up, noob! Dhe adults are talking!"

"But I'm 19. I'm pretty sure I'm older than both of you."

"I said shud up!" The little 12-year old was fuming. "Do you wan' me to help you or not?"

Apart from the arguing Tamers, another sound that caught Sopranomon's attention. He turned around quickly, and might have seen something in his peripheral vision, but wasn't sure if it was just a trick of the mind or not. "Sir Linkmon, did you hear something?"

Linkmon, who had his eyes closed and was imitating sleep, cracked an eye and peered over in the direction the little musician was looking. "Over the sounds of these three? There could be a full-scale battle behind us, and I wouldn't be any the wiser."

Surmising that it was probably nothing, he returned his attention to the trio of argumentative teens.

"I still don't know why we need three people." Ricker turned to Kurohi for the answer to that.

Kurohi scratched his chin as he tried to imagine up a fitting metaphor. "You know in RPGs when you get a character late game and they start at level 1?"

"I don't really play video games."

Pop was staring at the guy, baffled. "Where did you pick dhis one up?"

"The forums."

She didn't respond to this. She just shook her head in disappointment. "What supah-Tamah over here is trying do say is he's too weak to protect you all by himself, so he called me because-"

"My preferred choice is snoring like a Siberian Tiger."

Surprisingly, Pop's predictable agitated outburst did not follow Kurohi's comment. Instead, she made a pouty face and pushed her chair so it squeakily wheeled off screen. "I'm just as good as he is."

Kurohi knew she was probably just trying to tug on his heart strings, but it was working. "I don't doubt that. I've just known him longer, and trust him more because of that."

"Dhat's the only reason?"

"That's the only reason."

She scooted back into the view of the camera, smiling a little. "Ok. So where to?"

"Straight to _inferno_!" A large skeletal hand tried to swipe down through the gathered Digimon.

_Program Activated – Power Leveler CvP_

Linkmon caught it right before it made contact with their party. The owner was a very nasty looking SkullGreymon. Another fist, this one covered in white-blue fur, struck Linkmon square in the chest, sending him hurtling through the streaking downloads and into the wall. The Panjyamon X that had struck him then rose his staff to strike at the remaining two Child Digimon.

_Program Activated – Evolution_

"_Linkmon evolve to Jackmon!_"  
"_Sopranomon evolve to Mezzomon!_"

Mezzomon blasted Panjyamon's staff with a shot from his trumpet, knocking him off balance, which Jackmon complimented with an energy blast to the face. It retreated backwards in a bit of a daze, which his undead partner mimicked.

"Be careful SkullGreymon, these Illegals are strong."

"Most Illegals are, but they're just _Adultos_, we have the upper hand!"

Behind the antagonistic Digimon were another Tamer and a window of similar size that said 'Sound Only'. The visible human, who looked around 14 or 15, was cheering on his Digimon. "_Eliminar esses batoteiros_, SkullGreymon!"

"_Obviamente, meu_ Tamer!" SkullGreymon slammed down onto the floor, sending up quickly disappearing debris, and aimed him back missile. "_Ground Zero!_" Mezzomon grabbed Rollermon just as the blast hit between the group, speeding the two adult Digimon in opposite directions. Jackmon recovered quickly, but Mezzomon, who had been trying to shield Rollermon, was moving slowly. Catching this, their boney adversary sprung from his current position, his beady eyes set on the easier prey.

"Kurohi!" Pop was looking frantic. "Do something!"

"Jackmon!" Not needing to ask what Kurohi wanted him to do, Jackmon made a beeline to intercept SkullGreymon, only to be intercepted himself by Panjyamon.

"Where do you think you're going?" He pulled back his arm before Jackmon could slow down. "_Hyoujūken!_" A phantasmal army of blue lion heads hailed from his extended fist, pelting Jackmon again and again, and freezing over the entire front half of his body.

They could only watch on in horror as SkullGreymon's claws inched closer and closer to Mezzomon and Rollermon.

"It's this one, right?" A familiar flash of bright light filled the highway. A giant emerald ball covered in blue spikes cannonballed out of it straight into the extinct dinosaur's face, making him cartwheel over himself and safely away from Mezzomon. The ball popped open, and the new Digimon skidded to a stop on the ceiling. With its limbs extended, it looked like a more armored, and upright, version of Rollermon.

The two bewildered Tamers turned to Ricker. "_What did you do?_"

Their synchronicity through him off, somewhat. "The same thing you guys did, right? It just took me a while to find the but-ton that makes him evolve."

Pop gawked at him like he was a circus performer while Kurohi shook his head and refocused himself on the current problem. SkullGreymon was no longer dazed, and had recommenced his charge, snapping his jaws as if preparing to sink his teeth into the creature that was previously Rollermon. The green Digimon dodged easily, and kicked the behemoth in the side of the head. He didn't flinch much, but there were definite cracks forming on its lower jaw bone.

Jackmon was still frozen in place, with everything but his wings and tail covered in a thick layer of ice. Panjyamon was smiling mischievously at his work while bouncing his staff in his hand. "Kurohi...I'm tired of chilling out. Could I get a little help heating things up?"

"One shot of cinnamon whiskey comin' right up." Finger down, slid up, and...

_Program Activated – DNA Backtrack_

The crystalline blue ice encasing him melted from existence as a giant ball of orange flames conjured itself in front of him. He held his clawed hands out in front of him, and directed the fire at his leonine foe. "_Gaia Force!_" The blast seemed to bake the air as it sizzled its way forward.

"Impossible!" Too shaken to move, Panjyamon raised his arms to guard his head and braced for the impact. The sphere of molten earth collided with him full on, crashing him into the ground, unconscious.

Upon hearing his partner's explosive defeat, SkullGreymon turned away from the yet to be named Illegal Digimon he was fighting. "Panjyamon!" Taking advantage of his foe's dropped guard, the emerald Digimon hurried in for an attack. He aimed his one punch at the most fractured part of the horned dino's jaw and let loose, shattering it into pieces. SkullGreymon let out a muffled cry, before he and his blue partner were coated in the same familiar light, and re-emerging as a BlackGreymon and Leomon X, respectively.

BlackGreymon swooped down and scooped up his fallen comrade. He gave the three Digimon and their Tamers an angry glare. "_Não vamos esquecer isso, coelhinhos felpudos._" He retreated, followed closely by the two Tamers.

As soon as they were out of sight, Ricker started dancing in his chair. "Oh yeeeaaa, we won!" He waved his hands in the air like he just didn't care...that there were five people there horribly judging him.

His two senpai exchanged a knowing look. "Should we tell him we're dhe bad guys."

Kurohi shrugged. "We'll spoil his fun some other time. It's his first victory, after all."

"I guess you're right." She tapped her DP a few times. Mezzomon jumped up and started moving his little fingers, testing to see if everything was fixed up after the fight. "I think I've had enough excitemend for today, unfortunadely, so I'm gonna ged Mezzomon back home."

"Alright. Thanks for showing up. I appreciate it. I really do."

"Sure." She gave him a warm smile. "If you ever need anything, just call." She turned her attention to Ricker, who was now dancing in synch with his Digimon. "Hey, nooby!" He stopped mid-dance, looking quite odd with his hands up in the air, holding an invisible roof. "Thanks for the save. You did good." She waved to the two older boys. "See ya." And she and her Digimon zoomed down the highway, and out of site.

The remaining two Tamers sat there in silence for a while, unsure of what to do next.

Kurohi was the one to break the silence. "Well, that took all of five minutes."

"Yea. I did get a feel for my Digimon, thou." He beamed widely at his new friend. "And totally kicked that skeleton thing's butt!"

"Yea. You're partner's pretty strong. Don't forget that it was him fighting, and not you, thou."

Ricker nodded. "Got it. I won't forget." He gave his partner a thumbs-up. "Thanks for all your help, Chargermon."

Chargermon returned his hand sign, happily beat-boxing in response.

"Chargermon? That's a...great name..." Kurohi made a mental note not to ever let Ricker name anything for him.

* * *

It ate and ate.

Ate and ate.

Ate and ate.

It kept eating until it felt something inside it. Like something clicked into place. Like something was flowing into it. Like it no longer needed to eat anymore.

Yes. Yes. This was what it wanted. This was what it needed. This was what it had spent tireless hours searching for.

The connection.


	7. Chapter 7

Episode 7: Venomous; Villainous; Virus

"Ah! Sahib Linkmon, Sahib Furijin! What a pleasant surprise!" Bazaarmon's wings made a light clapping sound as he brought them together with exaggerated elation. "What can I do for my favorite customers?"

"We're you're favorites?" Kurohi's visage was floating next to Linkmon who had just perched himself on a large 3D bar graph. "How badly do your other customers bad mouth you if you prefer us?"

"Oh, no, you two are by far the worst in that regard." He paused a moment to allow his customers to exchange looks of mild shock at his honesty before giving another muffled clap. "But you bring me so much joyously juicy information, that it skyrockets you straight to the top. Now then..." He pulled out several text file icons. "I know why the two of you are here." He fanned himself with his handful of files. "And I just happen to have a few reports here that I know you'll find interesting, but I must wonder..." He pressed a claw to his beak and gave the pair a teasing smile. "What do you have for me?"

Linkmon was squirming in place, obviously fighting back the torrent of insults he wanted to hurl at the foul fowl before him.

Ignoring his partner, Kurohi manifested two icons, both .bat files, below him. "General specs and information on two new class 3 Illegals. That good enough for ya?"

"T-t-two!?" The bird's business-like attitude went up in smoke, forcing him to comically slap himself across the face to regain his composure. "Ahem. Two Illegal Digimon, you say? Well, I would say that sounds like adequate payment."

"Good, because we also want all similar information you obtain for the next three months."

The hawk frowned. "Two. And you have a deal."

The icons exchanged themselves in mid-air in front of them. Bazaarmon opened them, examined the images of the Digimon, and browsed their summaries. "Everything seems in order." He gave a small nod to his traded items. "Those are reports that have accumulated over the past week. Seems a strange, yet familiar, beast resembling both a Kuwagamon and a Kabuterimon has been sighted moving from servers in Africa through Asia, leaving an awful mess in its wake. I would be careful, Sahib Furijin."

Kurohi looked up from the file he was reading. "Why would you say that?"

"Because if you connect the dots, it looks like he's headed here."

* * *

"Aaaaand...sent." With a click, Kurohi had sent the e-mails off to their recipients.

"They're not going to help, you know." Linkmon had somewhat of a sober look on his face. "You have their confidence and approval, but not their loyalty. They will not rush headlong into the fray just because you send a plea for their assistance. The dangers we face are very grave. Very grave indeed."

"I know." Kurohi was somber, too. "It's not like I'm expecting them to lay their partners' lives down for us, but this is a matter than affects all of us. Even if they will not join in the fight, it is still their right to know. And I can always hope that they'll help us."

Linkmon could feel the palpable heaviness of his words."Are you alright, Kurohi?"

"I don't want to do this."

"The righteous path is often the most difficult."

"But are we right?" The words hung in the air like an odor.

"Digimon are dying, Kurohi. Tamer's are experiencing a pain that you are all to familiar with. Our intentions are just, and for the greater good. There is no need to doubt."

"Well, obviously." Most of Kurohi's dark mood faded instantly. "I can't even trick you into thinking about not doing this, can I?"

"Nope."

After a considerable amount of thinking, planning, and arguing, the two decided that their best plan of action would be to pursue no action at all. "The only reason this thing would be coming back to japan would be us. As far as we know, we're the only people that have dealt significant damage to it. If it's been consuming data all this time, then it probably thinks its strong enough to defeat us."

"Don't you think you're giving it a little too much credit Kurohi? You're talking about this thing like it's intelligent."

"It's an amalgamation of data feeding off other intelligent data beings. If it can copy their bodies, it can most likely copy their brains as well. It's probably been growing smarter, as well as stronger, with each prey it takes down. When we fought it before, it was probably newly created; hunting for food with all the grace of a starving animal. Now it's smart, and has more experience fighting Digimon. It's not surprising that it thinks it can beat us."

Linkmon was silently sitting, not saying a word.

"...Am I boring you?"

"No, no. I quite enjoy it when you take things seriously. If only you put that much effort into your schoolwork." His remark plastered a sour face on his human counterpart. "So, we wait for it to find us?"

"That's the plan."

* * *

Five days. Five days of waiting, constantly on edge, prepared for an attack on a moment's notice. Nothing. According to their calculations it should have arrived back in Japan three days prior, so what was taking it so long to attack?

Kurohi could not focus on what the teacher in front of him was saying. He was so jittery from anticipation that everything he said went in one ear and out the other. A sudden tap on his shoulder shocked him back to his senses. He jerked around to see the red-haired boy next to him wearing his concern on his sleeves.

"Hey, Furijin-san, you don't look so good. You ok?"

For the life of him, Kurohi could not remember the guy's name. "Uh, yea. My mind's just all over the place today, is all." Was it Kibayoshi? Kintabayuki? He knew there were a K and a Y in there somewhere.

"Furijin-san, Kobayashi-san?" Oh, that's right, it's Kobayashi. "Could the two of you please explain what is so important that you can't wait until after class finishes to discuss it?"

Kurohi stood up. Seeing as he couldn't focus anyways, he might as well take a chance. "I apologize, Sensei. I'm not feeling well, and Kobayashi-kun was just making sure I was alright. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to leave early today." He gave a small bow.

The teacher raised an eyebrow, but nothing more. "Alright, Furijin-san, if you're leaving early I suggest you do a little studying at home then. Goodness knows, you're grades need it."

"Th-thank you for the advice sir." Several members of the class were giggling under their breaths at him. "I'll be sure to do that." As he was gathering his things, there was a sharp vibrating sensation in his pocket. He pulled out his DP and opened the e-mail.

Kurohi grabbed his stuff and bolted out the door, startling several of the students sitting near there. As he ran down the building toward the exit, he read through Bazaarmon's e-mail again.

_Your quarry is currently engaged with company forces. I suggest you hurry._

* * *

"Have you got all your things packed, Melor?"

Melor didn't look his father in the face, but nodded in consent, all the same.

He placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "You're going to have a good time at your Mom's place. I know your mom can be a bit...ditzy, but she still loves you. She even said she'd get you a new computer this weekend, right? You've got to be excited about that, right?"

Again, Melor nodded.

"Alright. I'm gonna go warm up the car, then."

As his father turned away, Melor felt a shaking in his pocket. "W-wait." His father spun back around, looking surprised, while his son read the e-mail he'd just received. "M-my friend..."

* * *

"Gaah! Not again. Ow ow ow ow." Pop had managed to get a spec of toothpaste in her eye again. She wet the end of her towel and dabbed at her teary eye for a bit to try and clean it out. "Of all dhe-Whah-Ow!" Her DP, which was sitting on top of the toilet next to her, began violently shaking, causing her to poke herself in the eye. Fuming, she grabbed her DP and flipped it open. "Who dhe hell's texting me?" She expected it was a friend from school who didn't finish their homework or something, but wasn't expecting the txt to actually be an e-mail from... "Kurohi?"

* * *

Ricker read through the e-mail a few times, not quite sure what to make of it. "I don't know, Rollermon. The whole thing sounds kind of crazy."

Rollermon beeped a few times while swirling his arms and beating his chest with his tiny fists.

"You're right. Considering that you're just a glitch in the system, it's not surprising that something like that could exsist, is there? And he's going to fight it all by himself, huh?" He shot Rollermon a raised eyebrow, to which he responded with a nod.

* * *

Linkmon zoomed from connection to connection, flying at max speed with his wings unfurled. He exited into a large connective zone, a massive sphere that appears where many different connections cross, and stopped to admire in amazement the scene below him. It was there, surrounded by an army of the corporation's foot soldiers, the Sealsdramon. He and many other Digimon looked on as the Sealsdramon charged in in droves, attacking the monster with their combat knives. Sadly, it didn't seem to affect it at all. Every time they hit it their attacks seemed to bounce off, like it was immune to them. An unlucky few that got too close to its head were even bitten into and destroyed. The Sealsdramon, seeing that their attacks were ineffective, backed away to form a bubble around. In unison, a hundred voices called out saying, "_Perfect Evolution!_". The entire connection was filled with a blinding green light, and the Sealsdramon were all replaced with their evolutions. "_Tankdramon!_" All of their guns focused themselves on their solitary objective, and the air was filled with shouts of, "_Striver Cannon!_". The air seemed to be on fire as the sound of their combined blasts finally dimmed from Linkmon's ears. The silhouette of the sphere of Tankdramon could be seen through the smoke that hung over the area. Surely it couldn't have survived an attack like that.

The bubble of tanks began to wobble within the smoke. As it cleared, the onlookers were treated to a terrible sight. The giant insect was unharmed, and, worse, was going on the attack. It flew in and out of the Tankdramon, carving chunks off their bodies with every pass. In mere moments, over half their forces were unable to continue fighting.

The more Linkmon witnessed, the angrier he became at the creature. Any composure he had coming into this fight had evaporated like steam in front of the force of his rage. He took in as much energy as he could, and let it all out at once. "_Disconnect Grenade!_"

The ball of energy smacked the bug beast across the 'nose' mid-charge, causing it to both tumble over himself and howl in pain. After correcting itself, it caught sight of Linkmon and roared loudly in his direction.

"I'm the one you want right? So come and get me!"

_Program Activated – Evolution_

"_Linkmon, evolve to Jackmon!_" The hulking Dino-dragon pounded his fist into his open palm. "We've got a score to settle, and this time you're not running away."

* * *

On the other side of the screen, Kurohi watched as Jackmon and the monster began fighting. He could not talk to him or show himself with so many company drones buzzing about, so he'd just have to bide his time and give his partner support when he needed it.

* * *

Jackmon and the beast both charged at each other. Using his enhanced speed, Jackmon was able to slip under its attack and hit it with a powerful uppercut. But the air was not filled with the same cracking sound as the last time they fought; on the contrary, a red fist struck him across the side of the head in retaliation. He backed away, and it copied his movements.

"Partner! I need more firepower!"

_Program Activated – DNA Backtrack  
Program Activated – Breath Attack Consolidation_

"_Mega Flame!_" A wave of fire engulfed the bug. It flew out of the blaze and shot around the area erratically until it shook off every last spark. Still in mid-flight, it created four balls of purple energy in its outstretched hands, and shoved them all together. It threw the combined ball of electricity at Jackmon, who managed to dodge the initial hit, but could not escape the radius of the explosion. He bounced a few times before righting himself on all fours. The monster charged again, its jaws and one pincer, ready to bite and slice at him. Jackmon pivoted on his arm and fired as many System Downs as he could. Though many of them missed, enough managed to hit it to make it careen off target and slam into the ground a ways away. It quickly straightened itself, and the two stared each other down again.

It made the first move, or rather the last. It tore open a hole in the ground and escaped again. Jackmon tried to chase after it, but the hole sealed up before he could follow it.

"Damnit!" He punched the ground where it disappeared. "It got away!" He stood up and rubbed his forehead, angry at himself for letting it slip away again. He surveyed the area around him. The other Digimon who were originally watching the Tankdramons' fight were now watching him. The Tankdramon in turn, or at least the ones that were undamaged, were seeing to the injured members of their platoon. More and more Digimon seemed to be appearing by the minute, curious as to what was going on. Just as Jackmon thought it was about time to leave, the ground beneath him opened up and the creature attacked again, catching him off guard. It grabbed his leg in its jaws and yanked him up through the scattering crowds. It sunk its teeth deeper and deeper into his leg until...

"_Heavy Lariat!_"

A giant monkey fist impacted into the blue side of its head. It opened its mouth to scream, releasing Jackmon. As the bug clutched its head, a familiar mismatched Digimon grabbed Jackmon's arm and towed him away a safe distance.

"Editusmon?"

The asymmetrical Digimon gave him a wide smile. "Never been so glad to be late to a party. You alright, comrade?"

"I can still fight."

He sighed. "That eesn't what I meant."

"It's coming again."

With a shake of its head, the beast reorientated itself. It gave another roar before grabbing its upper arms with its lower ones, and tearing them from its sockets. It lurched its head back and howled in agony as its previously attached arms faded into the digital either. A stream of data spewed out of its sockets, forming into a pair of green sickle arms. It swung its new arms, shooting archs of projectile pink energy at its pair of opponents. Jackmon and Editusmon, who were temporarily dumbstruck by the grotesqueity of the scene, barely managed to dodge the incoming strike. It shot wave after wave of attacks at them. Jackmon, with his enhanced speed, was able to avoid them, but Editusmon took managed to take three consecutive hits to the gut. Seeing this, the monster kept one arm firing at Jackmon, while charging at Editusmon, maw wide with hunger. Jackmon looked on as...a giant green cannonball collided with its head, forcing it to spiral into the floor.

Chargermon popped out of his ball form and addressed the others. "_Beep bibibibeep bweep bawoo?_"

Rubbing his pained stomach, Editusmon turned to Jackmon. "Friend of yours?"

"...Yes."

"What did he say?"

"I don't know. I don't speak Italian."

Chargermon put his hands on his hips and started beeping angrily and Jackmon until a barrage of yellow and black missiles assaulted the two of them, Editusmon barely avoiding the attack. The missiles that did miss them flew throughout the area, causing those that had gathered to watch to flee in terror. Even the Tankdramon left, carrying their wounded with them. Editusmon observed that the bug's wings were gone, now replaced with an array of honeycomb shaped missile pods.

"A CannonBeemon, now? What's with thees theeng and bug Digimon?"

"Probably just likes the taste."

The missile pods on its back opened again and spewed another volley of missiles at the three of them. A small black Digimon intersected itself between the group and the rockets. "_Crescendo Tone!_" The wall of sound neutralized the threat. "I apologize for my tardiness, sir Jackmon."

"Eyes forward, Sopranomon. Don't let your guard down around this guy."

"Duly noted, sir, but...I am Mezzomon."

Editusmon patted the small Digimon on the back. "Comrade, you look exactly the same."

"_Beep beep babababa badeep ba beebada._"

Jackmon nodded in agreement. "Chargermon's right. Even if it's not a fair fight, with the four of us together we can surely defeat this abomination." Editusmon and Mezzomon shot him a look of '_you understood that?_'. Jackmon, in response, shot Chargermon a look. "That is what you said, right?"

"_Bebabe._"

"I'll take that as 'more or less'."

Below them, the creature started whaling again. It banged its fists against the ground over and over, like it was throwing a tantrum. Then it spoke. "_More..._" It stared up at them with its eyeless face. "_More power!_" It banged its fists one more time before standing up again. "_I need more power!_" It floated into the air. "_I need to...Evolve!_"

A sickening green light formed around the beast like a mist. Inside, it's silhouette was violently shaking, as if it was having a seizure. It seemed to tear out of its old body, spewing glittering fragments of blue and red data from within the emerald sphere.

The remaining four Digimon could only watch in horror as the fog dissipated to reveal the form of their new foe. It was a hulking light-blue Kuwagata, with enormous up-turned pincers. Each of its four three-fingered hands had a long, curved spike protruding from its wrist. Its wings, which numbered the same as its hands, were one-and-a-half its height, and had a gnarled and tattered appearance. It raised its head to the sky and howled its new name, as if announcing it to the world itself.

"_GiraffaKuwarus!_"

It looked up at the shocked quartet and gave an evil smirk. "Impressed? I had to eat quite a lot of you Digimon to accumulate enough data for that little show, but it was all worth it. After all..." He stuck out his long tongue and licked one of his fingers. "They were all so incredibly tasty."

Jackmon burst from the ranks, fist pulled back, but GiraffaKuwarus was ready, swinging one of his arms around and redirecting the speeding Digimon into the ground. It slammed its foot down on top of his head and cackled. "I may not need to eat you anymore, but I certainly will enjoy tearing your to pieces."

"_Heavy Lariat!_" Editusmon caught Chargermon in the crook of his elbow and propelled him at the blue beetle. A simple jump was enough to dodge it, with Chargermon impacting just in front of Jackmon's snout.

_Program Activated – Heavy Impactor_

Mezzomon pulled out his large cannon and scattered as many shots as his trigger finger would allow at GiraffaKuwarus. It weaved between the shots without too much difficulty before chucking the still ball-formed Chargermon at the tiny musician, who was not as lucky as the insect was at avoiding it. As Editusmon went to assist the two, he felt a tug at his leg and was thrown down on top of Jackmon.

"Ed...get off...you're heavy."

"I don't think thees ees the time for jokes, Jack."

"We're about to die. I think I'd rather go out joking than wollowing in despair."

GiraffaKuwarus' shadow loomed over them. "Well, if that's how you want to go out, then I'll be happy to oblige you." He raised one of his menacing wrist blades up, but the smile on his face suddenly shifted to one of confusion and anger. "But he...I don't care about..." He seemed to be talking to someone they couldn't see. "...I understand." He lowered his arm. "Sadly, it looks like I won't get the satisfaction of killing you today." He kicked Jackmon in the head. "But be sure that I'll be there cheering when someone makes a meal of you." He nonchalantly walked off. "Now if you'll excuse me..." He looked back over his shoulder. "I've got a whale to catch." He sunk into the ground and disappeared.

* * *

It was the next day, and Kurohi was heading home from work. Link and the other Digimon had been very quiet when they'd returned home. Pop and Melor were both astonished and upset about Kuwarus' ability to evolve, and Ricker...was Ricker. He was just upset about losing, but glad everyone was alright. "Trouble is..." Kurohi couldn't help pondering to himself. "We were a match for him before he evolved. Unless we manage to figure out how to evolve to Perfect, we may not stand a chance of defeating him."

"Yes, Kurohi, but you've been working on that evolution program for the last five months, and it's never worked in testing. Besides, that's not the thing that worries me most."

"You're talking about what he said at the end of the fight. That there may be more creatures like him out there?"

Linkmon grunted a yes. "Even if there's an army of them out there, I will not be defeated until every last creature that feeds on Digimon is deleted. Besides, his evolution is far from perfect. With the right programs we could easily defeat him."

Kurohi stopped dead, mid-stride. The gears in his brain were cranking so hard that passersbys could hear them. "Say that again."

"What?" Linkmon seemed somewhat confused. "Um...With the right programs we could easily defeat him?"

"No, before that."

"His...evolution is far from perfect?"

"His evolution is far from perfect." Kurohi muttered this to himself. "His evolution is far from perfect. Far from perfect. Far from Perfect..." There was a minute or so of pause before he continued. "Did he ever say that he evolved to Perfect?"

"No. I never thought he did. It was just...I don't know what to call it."

"A new...Link, I've got it!" Kurohi was jumping up and down. "I've got it! I've done it!"

"Done what? As far as I can tell you've just been standing here mumbling to yourself."

"You'll see. Let's get home. I need to boot up that override program again." He started to run in the direction of their apartment. "I think you've just given me my second win-"

A dark car came screeching to a halt on the sidewalk in front of him. A woman, about his height, with short black hair stepped out of the driver's seat. "Furijin Kurohi, right?" She spoke with enough authority to make a Prime Minister shake in his loafers.

Kurohi was too stunned by the absurd nature of the situation to respond right away. "Y-yes. How can I-"

"I'm Erika Haugen from the Illegal monitoring department of Digicorps.." She held up her ID like it was a police badge. "I'd like you to come with me."


	8. Chapter 8

Episode 8: Brandings; Birth; Break-In

Kurohi sat on his tiny wooden chair with his hands folded neatly in his lap. Across the desk from him, the woman who introduced herself as Erika Haugen of Digicorp.'s Illegal monitoring department, was rotating between typing on her computer and shuffling through the papers scattered disorganizedly around her. She stopped suddenly after continuing this pattern for about ten minutes, and turned her attention in his direction. "Oh, crap." She seemed a little startled. "I forgot you were here."

Her sentence hung in the air for a bit, ultimately concluding with Kurohi burying his face in his open palms. "If you don't need me, can I leave then?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I do need you." She started typing again. "I was just pulling up your information and got side-tracked by my work. Do you have any idea how difficult my job is?"

"No. No I don't."

"Well, it's very hard, let me tell you..."

"No, I'd rather you didn't."

She raised her hand and gave him the 'bring it on' gesture. "Keep talking so I don't forget you're here."

"Are you sure I shouldn't be speaking to someone else? Someone a little less..."

"Less of what?"

"Less of an airhead?"

"You sound just like my dad." She didn't even bother looking away from her computer screen, nor reacted in any way to his insult.

"Does he find you difficult to deal with, too?"

"No, you've got the same vocal pitch as him. It's actually kind of creepy."

Kurohi had no response. He didn't think he actually _knew_ anyone who could come back from something like that. "Really?"

She ignored him. "Furijin Kurohi, age 18." She was reading off her computer screen. "Purchased a Super Ultimate Plan from us three years prior. Has won 37 regional Digimon tournaments and four national tournaments. Has placed as high as fourth in worlds. Has purchased a total of three DPs from Digicorps over a period of ten years. Last time your Digimon were registered were at a regional tournament in Akihabara that you won eight months ago, the Digimon in question being a Dukemon Crimson Mode and an Omegamon Zwart." She looked up from her monitor. "Is all that correct?"

"...Yes."

"There's also a customer service report from six months ago here. It says..."

"I know what it says." There was more than a little heat in Kurohi's voice.

Erika thought for a second before continuing. "Alright. The report doesn't go into much detail, anyways. I'd be much more interested in hearing your side of the story."

The one thing that wasn't written in her reports, that everyone and their parents knew about him, was that he didn't like to talk about Digimon before Linkmon. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to decline."

Erika let out a long sigh. "Kid, do you know what I'm supposed to do to Illegal Digimon?"

"You delete them."

"That's right. I delete them. It's not my job to research their owners or go out of my way to talk to them. It's just to delete them." She leaned over her desk and looked at him like a peasant. "So why are you sitting here now?"

Kurohi didn't have an answer. There wasn't one. At least, not one that his logic could reason out of him.

* * *

Linkmon observed the scene through the security camera in the office. As soon as the woman had announced herself to them on the street, he had uploaded himself to the network via the strongest wireless network he could find. And now he was in the main office of Digicorp. The last place any Illegal would want to be, unless they wanted a death sentence.

He watched as Kurohi struggled against the woman in front of him. She seemed to be able to outsmart (or at least out comeback) him at every turn, and it was obvious it was taking a toll on his rational. He could do nothing but watch as Kurohi fought this battle alone.

* * *

"So, will you tell me?" Erika leaned back in her office chair. "You can't tell me your curiosity isn't getting the better of you."

Kurohi stared at his feet, and gripped his knees tightly. She was right, he was curious. There was a reason, and she was holding it over his head, like an angler's lure. "Where do you want me to start?"

Her expression didn't change, but her shoulders seemed to lower. "You can start from the beginning. We have plenty of time."

Kurohi took in a deep breath and began. "My first partner was a Botamon. It was a big deal for someone who grew up with the first season of the show, like me, 'cause it meant there was a big chance I'd get an Agumon...and I did get an Agumon. I had him for about a year before I got my second Digimon. It ended up being a Punimon, which eventually evolved into a Gabumon. A few months after that, Tamers started, and I was instantly drawn in. When the new updated DP was released, I was waiting in line to get my next one. I got a Jyarimon, so my team's line-up at that point ended up being MetalGreymon, Garurumon, and Guilmon.

"I was really into the game. I put more work into raising my Digimon than I did my schoolwork. In fact the amount of time I spent with them was what ultimately led me to aim for a career in programming. We went to a bunch of local tournaments, and kept getting stronger and stronger. We stayed on the local circuit until they announced that they'd be giving away Grani programs as participation prizes at all regional tournaments during that year, and I jumped at the chance to increase the power of my, then, Growlmon. And that is how I got started entering larger tournaments and got the final form of one of my team, Dukemon Crimson Mode.

"Zwart was a little different. When they revealed that they were releasing a limited run program that would allow you to evolve a WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon into a more powerful, and in my opinion, cooler looking version of Omegamon, I did everything I could to get my hands on one. Since I didn't manage to get one in its initial run, I started going to more and more out-of-the way tournaments to try and find someone who had it. Ended up dishing out 20000 Yen to some fat guy I met while at one of them in Hokkaido.

"And that's how I got my team. When I started college, WarGreymon would have been six if I hadn't fused him. And Omega was really smart. Sometimes I thought that he was probably smarter than I was. It makes sense, too. He had the combined years of both WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon under his belt. Eleven years of experience. And Duke wasn't a slacker either.

"They were both..." Kurohi was having trouble continuing. His voice was starting to catch in his throat. "They were both my best friends."

"Furijin." Erika's face had softened. She actually looked a little worried. "What happened?"

Kurohi held back the tears that were welling up behind his eyes and continued. "I had a test. I left them at home. And...that was it." He couldn't stop the flow anymore; tears slowly started to leak down his cheeks. "When I got home...they were both...dead...torn to...shreds..."

Erika got up out of her chair, and made her way around the desk. She went around behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, massaging them gently. "It's alright."

"No one...under...stood...To them they...were just...data...They weren't...real..."

"I understand. You had them for six years. They were like family right?" She then crouched down next to him, and placed one of her hands on his. "Now, tell me about your new partner."

"I...thought I could...fix them...y'know?" The tears had begun to slow, as Kurohi shifted his mind to the one good thing that came out of all the pain. "I'd been studying programming off and on...for years. But there was data missing. Neither one of them could be completely restored...so..."

"So?"

"...I put them together." He paused for a moment, more to put his thoughts in order than anything else. "I collected all their remaining data, and tried finding some way of melding their data together. I combed through as much of Zwart's data as I could to get the jist of how Jogressing worked, and used that as a basis."

"And so that's how you ended up with Linkmon?" Erika had pulled her chair around and was no sitting unobstructed in front of him.

"No, not at first. Both Duke and Zwart were knight Digimon, so their combined form was the same. It was crude and ugly, but it was alive...sort of.

"It couldn't move or speak, which wasn't surprising, looking back on it. I had basically just sewn limbs together and hoped the nerves lined up correctly. I was out of my mind at the time, too. I'd been working on it for days, I hadn't gotten much sleep, and the remains of my two best friends were basically an living, unmoving corpse...Then a miracle happened."

"A miracle?" She raised an eyebrow with a little shock. "That's not a very scientific explanation."

"Trust me, if I had a better word to use, I would, but that's the best way I can put it. It sounds better than 'I got extremely lucky and he devolved on his own into a more workable template', anyways. Which is exactly what happened. He went down to Child level, which was a lot easier to touch up, being less complex than two frankenstiened Super Ultimates. It didn't take long after that for me to fix him up to the caliber of a normal Digimon. All I needed to do was sand down a few rough edges, install a few beneficial programs, and add a name."

"And that was Linkmon, right?"

Having come to the end of his story, Kurohi responded with a nod. "Yea. That was him."

Erika stood up and gave a little clap. "All right." She took a quick peek at her watch. "We've been here for a while, so why don't we stretch our legs for a bit? I was thinking of getting some coffee, would you like some?"

"Wait, aren't you going to tell me why you brought me here?"

She dismissed his aggravations with a wave of her hand. "Of course I am, but we've been here for a while, and I'm thirsty. We'll reconvene in 30 minutes. You should look around or something." She walked to the door, turning back as she was exiting. "Is that a 'no' on the coffee?"

"I'm not big on coffee."

She shrugged before leaving, her office door open and inviting escape. Kurohi waited a minute for her to get some distance before peering outside to survey his surroundings; which were tons of cubicles. Considering Erika's position, he guessed he was in a section of the company where they dealt with cheaters or customer service or something. To his left was an elevator.

He could leave, but there was something poking at the back of his brain. As Digicorp. Japan was the original office that started production of Digimon, it also had the largest R&D team. If he was here, he might try and absorb a little inspiration, but as he stood before the large silver sliding doors, he found a slight hiccup in his plan. He didn't know what floor it was on. He looked around at all the employees, but didn't think it was a good idea to ask any of them. To them, he was probably just some random kid. They'd more likely escort him to the exit than anywhere else in the building.

As the doors opened in front of him, he decided that if he didn't know where it was, he might as well take a little unguided tour.

He pressed 2.

The doors revealed another set of cubicles. There were several potted plants poking out the tops of them, and some had tiny figures balanced on the edges. Everyone was also wearing suits. He guessed this was general management or something.

Next, he pressed 3.

There weren't many people on this floor. There were a lot of long tables and what looked like the entrance to the kitchen. This was apparently the cafeteria, but Kurohi had no idea what it was doing on the third floor.

Since he came from the fourth floor, he skipped that and hit 5.

This floor was a mess. There were pieces of paper everywhere, even more decorations than the second floor, and shelves stacked with Digimon merchandise lining the walls. There was also a large sigh taped to the front of the nearest cubicles reading 'WILD BUNCH' in big English letters.

This was the floor he had been looking for.

He strode out of the elevator very purposefully, as to not draw questions to him being there. It wasn't really needed, as few people seemed to lack the decency to look up from their work. He took a lap around the room, catching quick glimpses of what some of them were working on. There were people drawing new Digimon, a few of them playing the game online, some staring at code. It was all really fascinating. Kurohi couldn't help thinking, even thou he was an Illegal Tamer, that he'd love to be able to work with these people.

As he was nearing the end of his trot around the room, something caught his eye. Something he wasn't expecting. There was a little name plate next to the entrance of one of the cubicles. "Chiaki..._Shibumi_..."

Even thou he only said it as a whisper, the man at the desk looked up at the mention of his name. He adjusted his glasses to get a better view of the man intruding on his personal space. "Hey kid. Do you need something?"

"Uh...sorry." Kurohi felt like a mouse in a kennel of cats. These guys make Digimon for a living, and here he was, a cheater, standing in their presence. Well, crap. "The name's just familiar."

The chubby man gave a little chuckle. "Oh, fan of the show, huh?"

"Fan of the game. Of course I watched the show."

"Ha, yea. The director thought it'd be cool to give a little credit to us old guys. For all our hard work, and all." He took a swig of coffee from his 'I'm a Mokumon' mug. "So, get lost from the tour, or something?"

"Nah, I've just been talking to someone here, and she said to look around while she went to get coffee." Kurohi wasn't necessarily lying, but he felt guilty all the same.

"Letting some kid free roam of the place? Some of the higher-ups might not be too happy to hear that. Not that I care. So, who's the wonderful lady leaving you hanging?"

"Erika Haugen?"

Shibumi stopped half-way through another sip of tea. A few of the other members of the Wild Bunch who had been listening in, poked their heads out from behind their paper-plastered walls to get a look at him. "Erika? You mean you've been personally brought here by the head of the IMD?" His jovial mood was fading fast.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. This was bad. "Is that bad?"

"It depends on what you did to be brought here. What'd you do? Must've been pretty big if you're actually standing in the building."

Unfortunately, Kurohi didn't really know why he had been brought there. Thinking back to their conversation, all they really did was talk about Linkmon, so it probably has something to do with him. "I think it has something to do with my Digimon."

Shibumi's expression didn't shift. "You expect me to believe that? You or someone else hacking a Digimon is not big enough for you..." He pointed at Kurohi. "...to be here..." He pointed at the floor. "...talking to the head of the IMD." He swirled his fingers around his ears.

"Well...what if I made a class 3 Illegal Digimon? Would that make more sense? Because I honestly don't know why I'm here either."

"Really?" He perked up a bit at hearing this. "You made a class 3?"

"Um...yes?"

Shibumi gave him a short round of applause and patted him on the arm. "Hey, congrats, man. That's pretty cool."

"It is?"

"Yea, yea. We always like seeing the stuff the community creates, ain't that right Iruka?"

The man to Kurohi's right (Shibumi's left), Iruka, who had been listening in on their conversation, spoke up. "I agree. Seeing that there are kids out there who're creative enough to take our jobs when we're old and grey, warms my heart."

Shibumi laughed. "I don't know about you, but I plan on keeping this job even after I turn old and grey."

Shibumi and Iruka both returned to their computers, leaving Kurohi with nothing but his feeling of deja vu.

Shibumi held up and hand and waved it around a bit. "Don't worry, I'm not ignoring you, it's just us grown-ups have to work."

"Um...Shibumi-san? I have a question."

"Shoot, kid."

"The Shibumi in the show...What exactly do you work on?"

"Hm?" He scratched his chin a bit. "Well, we all do a bit of everything, but if you're asking for a specialty or something I guess mine would be...the Digimon's evolutionary process, I guess. I probably know more about it than anyone."

Jackpot. "Then, would you happen to have a copy of the program that receives the data from evolution programs and transmits corresponding level data for first instances of a particular evolution?"

Shibumi stopped tying, and turned to face him. He wasn't the only one, either. Iruka and the other three programers in the nearest cubicles all stopped working. "That's an oddly specific program to ask for. It's also useless. Any copies we have have to be incomplete so they don't interfere with the one in use." He adjusted his glasses. "You're not going to evolve an Illegal to Perfect even if you have it. It's impossible. The program was specifically written to so that it would deny any requests of Perfect or Ultimate variant evolutions from Digimon who have had their data altered."

"That's not what I intend to do with it."

Shibumi stood up from his chair, and stared Kurohi eye-to-eye. "Well then, kid, what would you do with the program if I did give it to you?"

Kurohi didn't need to think of an answer. Since the moment he realized it, he knew exactly what would happen if he was right. If he could make his wild dream a reality. It would...

"Change the world."

Kurohi felt a pair of hands slam down on his shoulders, destabilizing him and forcing him backwards onto a pair of tiny cushions. "You're not changing the world just yet, Furijin. I'm still not finished with you." It was Erika. "Coffee break's over. It's back to the office with you." She steered him back to the elevator and hit 4.

Just as the doors were closing, Shibumi called out to him. "I'll think about it, kid."


	9. Chapter 9

Episode 9: Standings; Spider; Saviors

Erika was engrossed in her work, rapidly tying on her keyboard with a look of absolute focus on her face. The trouble with that focus was that it caused her to forget that there was a rather annoyed teenager in the room.

Seriously, what the hell? If she had work to do, couldn't she have just left him up in R&D until she finished?

It was dark outside. Kurohi could hear shuffling from outside her office door. He guessed that it was around time for the office to close.

Erika hit a final few keys before letting out a long sigh and saving the reports she had been working on. She stretched in her chair, feeling the strain of being hunched over in her chair for several hours. She stood up, put some of her things in her bag, and walked out the door.

Leaving Kurohi alone in her office.

After about a minute, there was a lot of screeching and shuffling outside, before the do0r flew open to reveal a disheveled and out of breathe Erika.

Kurohi stood up, trying to keep his face from revealing any emotions. He was angry, and he was tired, but throwing all that out there at this point wasn't going to get him anywhere. This woman owed him an explanation and he was going to get it, and if he played his cards right he might even be able to use this situation to his advantage.

"Is there anywhere to eat around here?"

* * *

"Can you pass the ketchup?"

The two of them were at a fast-food joint a few blocks away from the offices. Burgers weren't really Kurohi's thing, but he tended not to complain when someone else was paying for it. After all, he lived off ramen. Erika seemed genuinely apologetic for ignoring him until closing, so, if he had questions, now would be the best time to ask.

Kurohi took a big bite of burger before starting. "Sho, *gulp*, do you have any more questions for me, or would it be alright if I asked a few of my own?"

Erika inhaled a few fries. "Just two." She took a big sip out of her extra-large soda. "One: What did you want that program for?"

Kurohi wasn't sure if he should tell her what he actually planned to do with it, or whether he could properly explain it either. It was still just a theory, and he had only just come up with it this afternoon when she picked him up, so he hadn't had any time to test it. "I have a theory that I want to test, and I need that program for that. I might be able to make something similar, but having that specific program would be preferred."

"So I'm guessing all that talk about 'changing the world' was just to suck up to Shibumi-tachi so they'd give it to you, then?"

Kurohi placed his burger down. "It's a matter of perspective. From my point of view, I believe I will have changed the world." He paused. "For good or worse is yet to be seen."

Erika laughed a bit at this. "Wooooow, serious, aren't we? Are you sure you're really 18?"

"Is that your second question?"

"Call it a follow up question to number one." She proceeded to swallow half her burger in a single gulp. "Real question two: why do you think I brought you in today?"

Kurohi had been thinking about this the entire time he was sitting in that uncomfortable chair, and he had only come up with one reasonable answer. "To meet me?"

Erika flashed a mischievous smile. "Oh? And what makes you so special that I'd drag you down to my office?"

"To determine what kind of person I was."

"Why would I need to do that? This isn't a marriage interview, you know. Why would I need to know what kind of person you are?"

"Because...You wouldn't ask someone for help if you didn't think you could trust them."

"Help? I lead one of the departments at Digicorps. main offices. I have the entire companies resources at my disposal to deal with any problems I may come across. What would I possibly need yo-"

"GiraffaKuwarus."

Erika's smile faded.

"Before he evolved you had over a hundred Perfect Level Digimon attacking him with everything they had, and you didn't even leave a scratch. Yet my group, with only four Adult Digimon, were able to push him back. That's why you need me."

"Wow." Her smile was still gone, but there was honest praise in her voice. "You are serious. And pretty damn smart, too."

"I just had a lot of time to think about it."

She laughed. Not a high-pitched laugh like earlier, but a deeper one. "Fair enough. I guess that's my fault." She took another long swig from her drink. "What do you want to know?"

"What are they? I know there's more than one of them, and more than one that's reached his level, according to what he said."

Erika popped the plastic lid off her drink and stirred it around with her straw. "We call them-" Her phone went off with a ringtone that sounded like a siren. She quickly pulled it out and read the message on it. She stood up and headed toward the door. "We're heading back to the company. Grab your Digimon; we might need him."

Kurohi stood up and pulled out his DP. He held it shoulder height as he walked, hearing the familiar tone that sounded when his Digimon completed uploading to it. "Security cameras?"

"Of course. I wasn't going to miss out on the conversation just because I couldn't take part." The brief silence that followed was quickly broken by Linkmon again. "Do you think we can trust her, Kurohi?"

"If we want our answers, then we have to."

* * *

They returned to Erika's office. She started up her computer, tapping her foot impatiently all the while. When it finally finished booting up, she immediately began to hit keys so fast that Kurohi had difficulty distinguishing hers fingers from the motion blur.

"There's an unauthorized Digimon in the system."

"What's it doing?"

"I'm not sure, but it's moving through our security programs like they were made of water. Or maybe it is. I don't know."

"What can I do?"

"I don't think there's anything we can do from here, which leaves us with one option." She pulls a DP out of her pocket. "How do you kick a Digimon out of your system? With another Digimon of course. Or in our case..." She gave Kurohi that mischievous grin again. "Two Digimon."

* * *

Linkmon shook off the mild disorientation from doing a wireless upload. He was now within Digicorps. internal systems. To be accurate, he was earlier today as well, but this time he was granted access instead of sneaking in.

The woman's voice reverberated around the inside of her personal computer. "All right, I'm uploading my Digimon...now."

Another Digimon began to materialize next to him. It was an angel, with gold armor and mask, and a red hat. He recognized it as being a Darcmon.

The female Digimon looked him up and down before speaking. "It appears my master wishes for us to work together." She crossed an arm in front of her chest and gave a short bow. "Please treat me well."

Linkmon hurriedly returned the bow. "Yes, and the same to you."

The woman's grating voice once again filled the area. "We don't have time for pleasantries, people. We've got a job to do."

"Since you know your way around, I'll follow your lead then."

Darcmon nodded. "Very well. This way."

The two of them headed down one of the pathways out of Erika's computer. Darcmon was able to get them past any security that slowed them down along the way. After about five minutes, when they reached a slightly different secured passage, Erika spoke up. "Our perp's in there."

Darcmon moved over to the passage, but it didn't open like the others did. "Master, this one is not responding to me."

"Ah, crap. Let me check whose computer this is...double crap!" There was an audible slapping sound. As they currently couldn't see the humans, Linkmon could only guess whoever owned the computer was deserving of a face-palm. "It's Shibumi's."

Kurohi's voice chimed in. "That's kinda ironic. Can't you get in?"

"No. All those R&D guys put a lot of extra security on their PCs, and Shibumi's the worst of the lot. I can't even remember how many different programs and passwords he uses to protect that thing. The man is a little paranoid."

"Just passwords and programs, huh? Link, open the door please."

"Understood." Linkmon stuck his tail into the transparent door-like obstruction that was blocking their way. It only took him a few seconds to disable it, and it opened to let them access. "It's open. We're proceeding."

* * *

Erika signaled to Kurohi to mute the mike on his DP so the Digimon wouldn't hear what she was about to say. "Would you care to explain what that just was?"

"What? So I gave him a few non-combat related abilities."

"A few? He's got more than just the ability to break into other people's computers?"

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for an intruder? Can't we save this for later?"

Erika gave a low growl, but turned back to the computer and unmuted her mike.

* * *

There were a total of eight obstructions blocking their path that Linkmon had to disarm. None of them were of much difficulty, thou it did take him a total of two minutes to get through them all.

The final door wasn't transparent like the others, so they couldn't see through it. As Linkmon drew his tail from the final one, it opened to reveal the strangest computer Linkmon had ever seen. Most computers he had visited were very simple. The area that Digimon had access to was similar to a desktop, normally a white sphere with shortcut icons floating around randomly. This computer however looked very patchwork. There were at least twenty different segments making up the wall, all of different colors and textures. Some of these segments jutted out at odd angels, while others receded into the wall to form little bubbles or pockets. And at the back of the computer, shuffling through a window of files, was a large silver spider.

"Unknown Digimon!" Darcmon's first reaction appeared to be to yell at it. "You are trespassing within an unauthorized computer system. You will cease your activities and come with us for questioning."

The spider turned away from its work and observed them, and Linkmon, in turn, observed it clearly for the first time. It was indeed spider-like, with eight long legs that looked almost like blades, but its body was not segmented like a spider, and it had no visible facial features except for a single visor-like eye. It spoke to them; its voice was like a thousand different whispers that fused to form one clear and coherent, yet robotic voice. "We will not comply with your demands."

Darcmon raised her staff to him. "Then you shall be deleted."

The chorus of voices spoke again. "We will not comply with your demands, thou we would like to see you try."

"Very well, prepare yourself." Darcmon charged forward and swung her staff down on the arachnid, but it quickly evaded the attack. She tried again and again to land a solid blow, but the spider's speed was too much for her to keep up with. She drew her sword. "_Baptême d'Amour!_" Her sword flashed faster than it could react, cleaving it in two. "Rest in peace."

The chorus spoke out from the remains of its body. "We will not rest until our mission is complete." The left half of it suddenly charged forward, hitting her in the gut and stunning her. The right half struck her head, sending her backwards. The two forms then liquified and merged together, forming another complete spider. "You are not strong enough to fight us."

Linkmon whipped it in the face with the flat end of his tail, forcing it away from Darcmon. There was a visible indent in its face from the impact. "Do not forget that there are two of us here."

The spider liquified itself again, and reformed back into an undamaged, solid body. "We did not forget. It appears we miscalculated. Miscalculated. Miscalculated." Its body wobbled uncontrollably for a minute before solidifying again. "We will not make the same mistake twice."

"We'll see about that." Linkmon went for another tail whip, but the spider blocked with four of its legs. Linkmon used hit tail to push its legs away and punched it in the eye. It made solid contact, but the spider liquified itself and retreated some distance before reforming.

"You possess claws, yet you attack us with fists? It is illogical."

Linkmon cracked his knuckles. "It's not illogical. If you can split your body apart to dodge a blade, then I need to use an attack with a wider surface area, which makes my fists the better option."

"It appears we made a mistake. Mistake. Mistake." Its body wobbled again, even more violently than before. When it spoke again, its voice had lost some of its harmony. "Stop making us make mistakes! Legionmon does not make mistakes!"

"Legionmon? So that's your name?"

Its body settled down. "We are Legionmon. The perfect Digimon. You are interfering with our mission, and must be removed." Its body split into eight pieces and turned into small lances. "_Spider Sliver!_" The lances shot forward, each targeted at Linkmon. He was able to dodge the initial strike easily, but they turned and followed him. They chased Linkmon around the computer, not leaving up for an instant.

Linkmon picked up the speed, letting the chase continue for another few seconds before looping behind the Legionmon spikes like a fighter jet and opening fire. "Disconnect Grenade!" The shot hit two of them, and one of them spun out into a third.

All eight of them reconvened into its singular spider form. "We are finished fighting. Our mission is complete."

"What?"

A file floated over to Legionmon from across the computer. It had a distinct silver outline to it. He had used himself as a distraction while a small portion of his liquified body had continued completing its mission. Legionmon absorbed the program into his body. "Before we leave, we request your name."

"And why would you want that?" Linkmon went for another punch, which Legionmon dodged.

"We simply wish to know." He was now floating next to the exit.

Realizing that he had no chance of catching him once he left, Linkmon fulfilled his request, hoping that even the few seconds would give time for a miracle. "I am Linkmon."

"Very well. Until the next time we meet, Linkmon." Before it could exit, however, the obstruction behind it closed.

"Man, this computer really is complex." Kurohi's voice was a welcome miracle in itself. "Did I make it in time?"

"Yes, you did."

"Foolish. We bypassed the security once. It will not be trouble a second time." Legionmon landed on the door and, on contact, dispersed into what looked like a swarm of tiny insects. Each of them were easily able to faze through the door as if it wasn't there.

"Wait!" Linkmon moved as fast as he could to catch at least some of it before it completely passed through, but was met with nothing but came up empty handed. "...He's gone Kurohi. He got away."

* * *

"So, do you know what he stole?" Erika and Kurohi were in the R&D office.

"No idea. It's Shibumi's stuff, so I'm pretty sure he'll be able to figure it out tomorrow. I'll call him in a bit and give him a heads up."

"What happens now?"

"Well, considering how late it's getting, I should probably get you home."

"Yea. Sure." Kurohi felt defeated. Not just because Linkmon couldn't manage to defeat Legionmon, but because he was so close to getting his answers, and reading into what Erika was saying, it didn't look like he was going to get them.

Erika locked up the place before they headed back to her car. It was quiet all the way back to Kurohi's apartment. Kurohi closed his eyes and laid back, suddenly feeling very tired. Maybe it was because of the car, or because of all the weirdness that happened today, but he honestly felt like crashing as soon as he got home.

They pulled up to his small apartment building. "Is this it?"

Kurohi opened his eyes and peered out the window. "Yea, this is it." He got out the car, but was surprised that Erika did as well. He went up to the second story, pulled out his key, and looked behind him. Erika had followed him up. Too tired to be either confused or weirded out, he pushed open the door and walked it. "Make yourself at home, I guess."

"Don't mind if I do!" She plopped down on his bed before he had a chance to, forcing Kurohi to take his desk chair. She stretched out in a manner that made Kurohi feel like she was showing off her curves. After fidgeting around for a minute, she settled down. "Your bed's comfy."

"Thanks."

"So where'd we leave off?"

Kurohi wasn't sure what she was talking about, so opted to remain silent while she was thinking.

"Oh, that's right." She turned over on her side and pointed at him. "We call them DIGIrus."

Kurohi's mind paused itself before going into overdrive trying to figure out what she was talking about. "What are they?"

"We're not quite sure. We originally thought they were viruses that somehow assimilated the data of Digimon and gained a sort of animalistic sentience, or at least until recently that is. All we really know is that they eat Digimon until they gain the ability to evolve."

"Do you know why your Digimon couldn't hurt them?"

"Just theories. Our main one is that since all Digimon are based on a singular AI, and the DIGIrus have programmed themselves to, essentially, ignore any affects of that specific program, but still allows them to deal damage to them. They're kinda like antibodies, and the Digimon are like a disease. They're built to destroy Digimon without being destroyed by them."

"Which would technically explain why the Illegal Digimon are able to, right? Or at least in theory, since they're data has been altered from the original to a greater extent than most Digimon."

"Yep. That about sums it up why we can't touch them, and why I came looking for you." She got up off his bed and stood over him. "Furijin Kurohi?"

"Yes..."

"We would like to hire you to form a special task force specifically for the purpose of finding, eliminating, and learning more about these creatures dubbed the DIGIrus. Do you accept?"

Kurohi considered it, which was tough due to the sheer ludicrousness of this whole situation. "You said hire. Would I receive compensation?"

"It'd count as an internship. It'll look good on a resume."

Kurohi wasn't quite sure about this. He would have to juggle his duties on top of college and work, thou he wasn't entirely sure what working in this type of task force would entail. There was one thing that kept creeping back into his mind. He might be able to use this position as the last card he needed to achieve his ends. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"Shibumi's program; the one I was talking to him about this afternoon. If you can get me a copy of that program then I'll accept. I'll need it if we're going to go toe-to-toe with something of GiraffaKuwarus again."

Erika seemed a little confused as to why the two were connected, but shrugged it off. "It that's all you need, then I'll see that it's done." She checked her phone. "It's late, and I should be headed home. I'll get back to you soon about your request."

"Thank you very much." Kurohi gave a small bow.

As Erika walked back to her car, a squeaky voice spoke to her from her pocket. "Can we really trust him, master? He seems somewhat fishy."

Erika pulled out her DP. "I trust him, Patamon. He's a good kid. Whatever he's trying to do, I really do think he's trying to change the world."

* * *

A boy stood in front of a large glass window, looking down at the streets of London. Behind him, his computer came to life, and a thousand voices greeted him. "We have returned successful, master."

"Very good, Legionmon. You have done very well."

"There is one thing, master."

The white haired boy turned to face the spider Digimon, but a smile never faded from his lips. "Oh, it's quite rare for you to run into trouble, my friend."

"While we were obtaining the program you desired, we were intercepted by another Illegal."

The boy's smile widened. "Is that so? Looks like someone snuck an extra piece onto the board while I wasn't looking." He shrugged it off. "Well, it doesn't matter whether he's a Knight, a Rook, or a Bishop. Any which way you see it, the game will still be mine."


	10. Chapter 10

Episode 10: Exchange; Empowered ;Extracurricular

The drive back to Novomoskovsk was dead silent. It didn't bother Melor, but he knew that it did bother his mother. She was a very chatty person; spending more time talking on the phone than to him the entire weekend. But it didn't matter to him. He knew the only reason she insisted on seeing him every other weekend was for appearance's sake. But there were weekends like this one where she had her shining moments he thought as he ran his finger around the corner of the new laptop balanced on his knees.

They pulled in to the parking lot of the coffee shop where his parents normally exchanged him. His father was already there, leaning against his car and rubbing his hands together to shake off some of the cool Russian air.

As the two of them got out of the car, he gave a nod to the woman. "Olesia."

She gave him a bright, fake smile. "Good to see you again, Kirill. Feels like it's been forever."

"It's been two days."

"Oh, has it. I don't know where my sense of time has gone." She stooped down to give her son a hug. "I must have lost it while having so much fun with my little boy this weekend!"

Melor was staring intently at his father's left shoulder. While his face was the same expressionless one he normally wore, on the inside he was begging his father to get him out of here.

His father, probably realizing this, tried to wrap up their meeting. "Well, it's good to know the two of you had fun. Same time in two weeks?"

She stood back up, her false smile still extending from ear to ear. "Sure. I'll see you boys then." She gave a cheery-looking wave as she got back into her car and drove off, leaving the two of them still standing in the parking lot.

Kirill sighed. "I guess we should get going, too. We don't want to be out here when it gets too dark." The two of them slid into their old car and drove off.

It didn't very long for their small house to come into view. His father could have easily just asked his mother to crop him off here instead of at the coffee shop, especially considering how far they'd come already, but he didn't want her to see the state of this place. But Melor didn't mind how it looked. It had food and electricity, which was all he needed.

When they got inside, Melor headed to his room.

"I'll heat you up something to eat."

Melor nodded without looking at him.

He collapsed on his bed. No matter how many times he did it, he was still tired. He had just gone from St. Petersburg to Moscow by plane, followed by his mother's poor driving for three hours after that. A normal kid his age would have gone insane.

"Good to have ya back." Melor looked up to see Misceomon on his computer screen. "Eet's pretty dull here when you're not around."

Melor slugged out of bed and plopped himself down on his computer chair.

"Still feeling a bit jet-laggy?"

Melor began typing. "_I'm just tired. I don't think I flew far enough to experience jet lag._"

"You don't need to talk to me eef you're tired."

"_It's fine. It's my brain that's tired. I just need to do something to wake it up._"

"Well..." Misceomon was eying the laptop with curiosity. "You could tell me a bit about that fancy new computer of yours."

"_It's better than this one._"

"I love eet already."

Melor hooked the laptop up to his PC and started copying files and links onto it, while Misceomon kept reorganizing his desktop, changing each icon into a circle and arranging them all into a perfect figure-eight. Melor stopped half-way through to eat with his father before he decided to go to bed, and Melor returned to his work.

"I jyust remembered somtheeng." Misceomon had apparently finished moving everything to the pixel perfect point. "Kurohi sent you a message yesterday."

"_About what?_"

"Don't know. He said eet was important, but not urgent. Knoweeng heem, he's still online right now."

"_I don't think he sleeps at all._"

Melor checked his messenger, and he was indeed still online. He sent him a video chat offer, which he responded to after a half a minute.

Kurohi appeared on his monitor, not that he looked at him. Other than the phrase "Yo Comrade", Melor could not understand his Japanese. Luckily, it was all being translated by one of his programs.

"Yo, comrade. Haven't seen you on. Busy weekend?"

"_I was visiting my mother in St. Petersburg._"

"Sounds like fun."

"_It wasn't._" Just remembering how boring it was sent shivers down his spine. "_You had something to discuss with me?_"

"Yea..." Melor could hear the hesitancy in his voice. "I want to offer you a job."

"_A job?_"

"Yea...with Digicorp."

"S-shtwa!?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Kurohi looked shocked. This wasn't that surprising considering he'd never heard him speak before, but current situations forced the issue aside.

Melor frantically began typing. "_What do you mean a job at Digicorp.?_"

"Well, it's not a job so much as an internship." Kurohi proceeded to explain what had happened to him over the weekend, and that he was asked to form the team. "So, whadoya say? Interested?"

Melor had always assumed that there was something slightly off about Kurohi, but he could have never guessed that he was actually insane. "_You realize they will delete our Digimon once we've fulfilled our usefulness._"

"Wow. Never pegged you for a conspiracy theorist." Kurohi paused, again, before continuing. "Look, you don't have to join. Just because I've decided to work with them doesn't mean you have to, too. Just think it over, ok?"

"_...Fine. I will think it over."_

"That's all I ask. I've got some stuff to work on, so I'll talk to you later. G'night. Glad to have you back online." And with that, their chat was over.

"So, what do you theenk, Melor? Thees whole DIGIrus thing?"

"_I honestly don't know._"

* * *

Potpourri wore a particularly nasty scowl as she waited for the bus to pick her up from school. The other students were keeping their distance.

A voice emanated from her pocket. "Mistress?"

Pop pulled her DP out of her pocket so she could see the tiny musician who had interrupted her thoughts. "Whad is it, Sopranomon?"

"Mistress, you seem to be in a foul mood. Are you upset about what Master Kurohi said yesterday?"

"I'm not mad're anythin', I'm jusd thinkin' is all."

"May I inquire as to what, Mistress?"

"Well..." Pop was confused. Not by Sopranomon's question, but by everything that Kurohi had said yesterday. "I jus'don't get whad's goin' on. DIGIrus? The company? Formin' a team? Id's a lot to process, y'know? And I didn't even get half the techno-babble he was spoutin'. Wha'd'he hell is a micro-black hole, anyways!?" This last outburst caused the surrounding middle-schoolers to take a visible step backwards away from her.

As the bus pulled up and they all poured on, every set of seats directly next to her were left vacant. This was odd considering that people normally didn't start doubling up until every seat had at least one person in it, but Pop was to engrossed in her own mind to notice any of this.

"Wha'd'o you think I shoul'd'o, Sopranomon?"

"I do not know, Mistress, but no matter what you decide I will follow your will." He gave a small bow.

The people that got off before her all shot her fearful looks. One girl in particular actually said that she hoped she'd feel better, which finally made Pop realize she was freaking everyone else on the bus out, and forced her to soften her expression.

It normally took around 25 minutes for the bus to get from the school to Pop's stop, and another three minutes of walking to get from there to her apartment.

"I'm home!" The door clattered noisily closed behind her.

"Ah." An apron clad young man stepped out of their tiny kitchen to see her. "Welcome home, Potpourri. I've almost finished making lunch." Her brother gave her a broad smile.

Pop dropped her backpack on the coffee table and fell onto the couch. "Okaaaaay." She wasn't that hungry, but she hoped that food would get Kurohi off her mind.

Her brother came out of the kitchen carrying a plate with a decked out sandwich and some chips on it. He set it down next to her bag. "Are you okay, Potpourri? You look upset."

Pop covered her face with a throw pillow. "I'm fine. I think."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Pop sat up right. "Whad's with him!? First he kicks my butt at Digimon, dhen he geds all friendly widh me, has me help him fight some freaky monsder, and now he's offering me a job and immunidy for Sopranomon! I don' ged him!"

"Um..." He looked somewhat confused. "Who are you talking about?"

Pop flopped back onto the couch. "A friend of mine. We met online."

"You met him online?" He seemed concerned. "And he's offering you a job? How old is he?"

"Id's not really a job. According to him id's more like a pard-time internship. Apparently id looks good on a resume or some bull like dhat. And I don' know how old he is. I think he's in college or somethin'."

"College?" He looked very concerned now. "Potpourri, you should be careful who you talk to online. This man might be some sort of pervert or something."

Pop though the throw pillow at his head. She did not look amused. "Did you jusd call me friend a pervert?"

"What? N-no. I would never-"

"Because he's not. He's a good guy, and he's jusd lookin' for some help is all." Pop laid back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "...jusd lookin' for help...Hey, bro?"

"Y-yes, Potpourri?"

"What's a micro-black hole?"

* * *

"Oy, Ricker! Get your head in the game!"

"Wha-?" Ricker snapped back into the game just in time to see the opposing defense kick the ball up to their teammates in midfield. Ricker turned on the spot and ran to intercept them, knocking the ball away with a sliding tackle. One of his team got the ball and dribbled it back toward the enemy goal. Even thou he felt a little banged up, Ricker got back on his feet and charged after the ball.

Yes. He had no trouble getting back on his feet after getting into a scrape, but he wasn't worried about himself. He wasn't going to be the one who was fighting. According to Kurohi, these things, the DIGIrus, ate Digimon. Even if Rollermon was one of the few Digimon who could do anything, they weren't strong enough to do anything last time. What was going to stop the same thing from happening again.

His teammate kicked the ball, but it was intercepted by an opposing player's forehead. The ball flew in Ricker's direction.

The only reason everyone was still in one piece was because that bug thing left them alone. There was no guarantee that the same thing was going to happen again, or that they would be so lucky.

Ricker caught the ball on his chest.

But this was Kurohi he was talking about. He wasn't stupid, and he wouldn't agree to something so reckless without a plan.

He swerved through the defense, narrowing in on the stocky goalie guarding his ball's destination.

You do have a plan, don't you Kurohi?

Ricker kicked the ball with everything he had.

_Deleting a Digimon is equivalent to killing a human._

"Goal!" The crowd cheered. Ricker looked up at the score board. With three seconds left on the clock, they had managed to pull ahead 4-3. Many of Ricker's team gave him pats on the shoulder or slaps on the back. They had won.

He trusted Kurohi. He trusted Kurohi had the Digimon's best interests at heart, and that he wouldn't send them in without some form of insurance to make sure they got out of it alright.

As everyone was cheering around him and hugging one another, Ricker pulled his DP out of his bag. "Roller. What do you say? You itching for a fight?"

Rollermon mimed a few quick jabs while beeping happily.

"Alright then." Ricker's thumb blazed across the screen for a few seconds, and the txt was sent.

* * *

We're in

Kurohi looked down at Ricker's txt. "That's two of them."

"I do not believe Melor will join us so easily. He is not worried about the DIGIrus, but the company. To him, they are a more dangerous enemy, as they can erase Misceomon without them being able to fight back."

"Yea, I understand that. Whether he decides to help or not may greatly shape how well this fight goes." Kurohi was at his desk. He hadn't slept for two nights, or at least not for very long. Erika had easily convinced Shibumi to give him a copy of the program, and he had been modifying it all this time. They did not know when their enemy would strike next, so that had to be ready as soon as possible.

"Kurohi, may I ask you something?"

"You'll ask anyways."

"Why didn't you tell them about the Superior Program and Legionmon? I know you mentioned it to the girl, but if you had told them about the program, they may have been more interested in joining."

"I know." Kurohi knew very well that it could be used as a very alluring incentive. "But it would be wrong of me to use it as a bargaining chip. It should be a gift for having trusted me."

"And Legionmon?"

"It's one and the same at this point, isn't it?" Along with the program, Erika had also sent a report on the events of their fight with Legionmon. She had made sure to highlight a particular point for them: the stolen data. The exact program they had asked for that very same day. "Whoever's pulling that spider's strings is probably trying to do the same thing we are, or at least something similar. Telling them about it would give away what we're working on."

"To be honest, I don't think anyone but Melor would understand. The girl seemed rather confused when you mentioned you were working on a digital micro-black hole."

"Yeeeaaa. Probably could've explained that to Pop better."

There was a ping from his computer.

"Seems like you've got an e-mail."

"I know what that sound means, Sherlock." He pulled up his e-mail and began reading th message from Erika.

"I've read that book now."

"Thoughts?"

"It's a good read."

"You chuckle at all the ejaculations?"

Linkmon scowled. "I am a knight. I do not find such profanities humorous."

"Yea, yea." Kurohi finished reading. "Looks like we've got our perp." Kurohi opened the picture file attached to the e-mail, revealing the face of an old man with grey hair. "A mister Sigmund Black. Apparently he owns a large computer company in Great Britain. According to Erika, they confronted him about the break in, but he denied any involvement in it. Even let them search the company's systems."

"Hmm. Doesn't seem like the gaming type."

"And we have our first mission." He stared into Mr. Black's eyes, as if challenging him to a battle. "Erika thinks that if it it's not in his company's system, then it's probably on either a personal computer or a computer separate from the system. Our mission is merely to search his personal computers and determine if the information is stored there or not. We go in, poke around, and get out. Sounds easy enough."

Linkmon smirked. "Breaking and entering a most likely high-security computer system? Sounds like a walk in the park."


	11. Chapter 11

Episode 11: Provocation; President; Perfect

Linkmon and Sopranomon were in London; Kurohi and Pop were at their computers. The four of them were waiting for Ricker and Rollermon, who were late. Pop seemed really fidgety; like she was on edge or something. It's not like Kurohi could blame her, they were about to break into the computer of a powerful and influential businessman. He was feeling a little jittery, too.

"Hey." Pop broke the silence.

"Yea?"

"You're in college, right?" She wasn't actually looking at him. The window containing her face was turned slightly to his left, but she kept shooting glances over at him every few seconds.

"Yea."

"Can you say somethin' odher than 'yea'?"

"Yes. Yes, I can." Kurohi's flitted to the clock at the corner of his screen for the hundredth time. "What do you want to know about college?"

"Uh...wha'd'o you do there?"

"Get yelled at by my teachers, mostly. Other than that, I basically just spend time with my friends there. I'm studying to be a programmer."

"D'you have a girlfriend?" Kurohi was too busy staring at the clock to see the brief expression of confusion that Pop displayed at her own question.

"Nope. According to Link, I assume girls are into me when they're really not."

Pop looked apprehensive for a moment before continuing. "Have you-"

"Sorry we're late!"

The two of them turned around to see Ricker and...a black-colored sheet ghost.

"Hey, Ricker. Who's your friend?"

Ricker pouted. "What? My Digimon's the only one that's not black. We're going on a heist or something, aren't we?"

"Ricker, we're breaking into a _computer_. Look around you." Kurohi spun his fingers around to emphasize the the area they were in. "The visual representation of most computer systems is _white_. We all stand out like a sore thumb."

This revelation just upset Ricker. "Well, at least I'm trying. I don't know as much about computers as you do, so I'm learning. You can't expect me not to make a few mistakes."

Linkmon and Sopranomon had converged on Rollermon by this point. "I for one think you look quite nice, master Rollermon. No one will be able to tell who you are."

Linkmon snickered. "I can honestly say I couldn't tell."

Rollermon beeped happily, bouncing up and down under his disguise.

"All right, all right. We're done with all the games." Kurohi switched over to business mode. "We've got work to do. It should take us about three minutes to get to our destination from here. You've all been briefed on what exactly it is we're doing, and Linkmon will go over the specifics on the way there. Is everyone clear?"

There were nods of ascension from everyone. Everyone except Pop, who seemed to be off in her own world.

"Pop, are you ready?"

"Huh?" She snapped back into attention. "Oh, 'bout time we starded." She shook herself loose and punched into her open palm in the most macho way she could muster. "Led's go."

The Digimon, led by Linkmon, set off. Ricker's window changed to the sound only screen, and followed suit.

"Hey, Pop." Kurohi turned to his teammate. "You ok? You were spacing out back there."

She waved off his concern. "Don' worry aboud me, I'm fine."

Kurohi shrugged. "If you say so. By the way, what were you going to ask me before?"

Pop froze for a moment before switching to sound only as well. "Nothin' important." She headed off after the others.

Kurohi scratched his head. "Link's right," he said to himself, "I really don't get women, do I?"

=====

It was black.

They were inside the wireless modem of Mr. Black's estate. They were planning on splitting up here, but were somewhat sidetracked by the fact that the visual representation of the inside of his computers was, in fact, black.

"Ha!" Kurohi could not see Ricker's face, but had a pretty good feeling that he was looking rather smug at the moment.

Kurohi ignored him. "According to our information, Mr. Black has multiple computers on his estate. We'll split into pairs and search. If you find anything similar to the data you were sent, contact me so I can confirm." He took the lead and moved out first. "Don't get caught, now."

According to the information they'd received, Mr. Black had three computers; a Mac, a business laptop, and a personal laptop, and there were five pathways leading out of the modem. Each of the pairs chose one path. Linkmon's ended him up in a computer, which was just as dark as the modem they'd entered from.

"Link, let's put that tail to work."

"Understood." He plugged his tail into the wall, and began sifting through the data contained within it.

While he was working, Kurohi received IMs from the others.

_Potpourri: Ended up in security system  
Taking other way_

Ricker: Think were in the mac  
Now searching

Potpourri: In computer. Now searching

"I've finished." Linkmon unplugged his tail. "It doesn't seem to be here."

"Can't be helped. Let's just hope the others have better luck."

Another message popped up from Ricker.

_Ricker: Nothing weird here  
Checking last path_

"Well, that was fast. Didn't expect them to finish as fast as us."

"What should we do now, Kurohi?"

"Let's head back to the rendezvous point, and wait for the others."

It wasn't even a minute before Sopranomon met them.

"I'm sorry, master Kurohi, but we were unsuccessful. There was nothing unusual about either the computer or the security system."

"Thanks for being thorough. Ricker went to check out whatever's down that last path. Let's hope he finds something."

"Hey, Kurohi." The faceless Pop chimed in. "What happens if we don' find anythin'?"

"Hmm...Nothing, I guess. Mr. ironic color sense'll be cleared, so we can put our efforts into searching elsewhere."

"So, if we don' find id here, we're gonna have to do this again somewhere else?"

"If it comes to that, then yes." Kurohi cracked his neck out of boredom. "Sorry for dragging you guys along with me on this."

"Nah, id's fine. Id's not like I had anythin' else to do."

Another message from Ricker appeared on his screen.

_Ricker: Your gonna wanna see this_

"Ricker found something."

Without another word, the two of them headed down the last path (the one that none of them went into at the start and the one Pop didn't come out of).

"Wait." Pop seemed to be thinking out loud. "We already checked all dhis guy's compuders, right? What's this fifth one supposed to be?"

As the two of them continued down the path, the walls slowly started to grey back into their normal white color. They emerged into a fourth computer, which was surprising as it went against the data they had received prior to the mission. Kurohi would have believed it to maybe have been a visitor's laptop, but the sight before them disproved that immediately. A large silver-black sphere with many puzzle-like chunks missing from floated at the back of the computer; The bobbing sheet and Ricker's sound only screen standing before it.

As the four of them made their approach, Kurohi became more and more sure that this was what they were looking for. He had studied the visualization of his original copy of the program very thoroughly. Thoroughly enough that he could tell that this one has been modified, thou without looking directly at its code, he would have no idea as to how.

"This is it. Good job, Ricker, Rollermon."

As they came closer to their two companions, Rollermon turned around to meet them. When he was close enough to Linkmon, a long silver spike shot out through his costume, aiming straight at Linkmon's chest. Linkmon was fast enough to catch it between his claws, and the two remained motionless, the others frozen in surprise.

The black cloth covering the fake Rollermon began to scatter into data. "We believe there is an appropriate exclamation for this scenario." Legionmon stared coldly back at its master's unwelcome guests. "Boo."

Linkmon gripped its spike tightly and hurled it over his shoulder, but the unfazed spider was able to quickly right itself.

"Would you kindly explain what you are doing in our master's domain? Linkmon." His eyes turned toward Kurohi's screen. "Furijin." At the mention of his name, his and Pop's screens changed back to display their webcams. Try as they might, they couldn't get them to change back. "Our master is not one for masquerade parties. Even ones held without his knowledge."

Linkmon fired a blast at Legionmon, who split in half down the middle to avoid it. "Where are our friends."

"How rude. We believe you still haven't answered our own query." Despite his words, he pointed in the direction they had entered from. "If you must know, we restrained them over there." Above the entrance were Rollermon and Ricker, both of whom were stuck to the wall with what looked like silver spider-webbing. Rollermon seemed to be gagged, while Ricker was apparently muted.

"Well, now that that's settled-" Linkmon charged at his metallic foe. Claw and metal leg clanged together; fire and quicksilver shot sparks into the air. Their movements became so fast that their bodies appeared blurred.

Kurohi looked on. "Pop, Sopranomon, get the others down."

"Got it."  
"Yes, sir."

He turned to face the sound only screen still floating in front of the spherical program. "You're Sigmund Black, correct?"

The screen did not respond.

"Why are you doing this? What use do you have for that program?"

Still, silence.

"Black!"

"It's White, actually." The voice was not what Kurohi had been expecting. It was the voice of a child, but spoke with an authority he was not used to. The screen in front of him was replaced with the image of a child as well. A young boy with white-blonde hair and blue eyes that reflected the surprisingly joyful smile he wore. "Charles James Wallace George White XIX, to be exact."

"..." Kurohi was thinking. Thinking very hard. "I'm really bad with left fielders."

"Oh?" The boy let out a little laugh. "I've only introduced myself, and you're already at a loss for words? I honestly expected the creator of a Digimon that could match my Legionmon to be more...intelligent."

Kurohi was not amused; his annoyance etching itself into his face. He ignored the cacophony of concussive explosions behind him, and kept his attention on the boy in front of him.

"Ah, now you look more like the opponent I was expecting."

"I have some questions for you, _White_, and I'm not planning on taking 'no' for an answer."

White let out another laugh. "Now, now. We're both civilized gentlemen. I assume, anyway. I'm sure we can discuss this like...Adults." He lifted his white DP so that it was revealed to Kurohi on screen. "Don't you agree, Legionmon?" He slid his finger across the touch screen.

_Program Activated – Evolution_

Legionmon was surrounded by a blaze of emerald light. "_Legionmon Mega evolve to-_" Its body grew larger. Its legs became more curved, the inner portions of which becoming serrated. From its abdomen grew a thick scorpion tail, tipped with what looked like the type of laser a James Bond villain would use. "_Legionmon Giga!_"

Kurohi stared at the newly evolved Legionmon for a second, then turned back to White. "Clever." Kurohi picked his DP off his desk. "Fine, let's talk."

_Program Activated – Evolution_

"_Linkmon evolve to Jackmon!_"

The jet black dino-dragon and the silver spider-scorpion stared each other down like two kaiju about to rampage through a city.

"First question: why the Archadimon name scheme?"

Legionmon fired a barrage of beams from his tail, which Jackmon narrowly avoided, even with his enhanced speed.

"Because no matter how big it gets, a legion is still a legion."

Jackmon sped forward, taking a light blow to the shoulder from Legionmon's tail before bringing his claw down on his head. Unfortunately, it merely reformed after Jackmon moved away from the metallic Digimon.

"Second question: what are you going to do with that?" He pointed to the sphere behind White's head.

Legionmon's tail formed into a whip-like blade, which caught Jackmon in his already injured shoulder, but before it could come around for a second strike, the tail was dispersed into its quicksilvery form by a streaking green cannonball. As Chargermon righted himself after impacting the ground at his high speed, Legionmon's tail reformed back into a laser.

"As if someone of your particular caliber would understand the complexities of this program."

Just a Legionmon was about to mount another attack, it was pelted by note-shaped energy blasts, courtesy of Mezzomon who was off to the distance to its right. In order to deal with the multiple threats, Legionmon's body liquified again, and split into three smaller, but just as menacing versions of itself.

"I have a copy of that program as well, and I can tell just from looking at it that you and I had very different ideas about how to modify it."

Each Legionmon engaged a separate Digimon in combat. While Jackmon at full strength could have dealt with this smaller one, in his weakened state he was having more difficult in close combat. He tried to back away and fire vollies at it from a distance, but the smaller target make it difficult for any of them to make contact.

"Do you now? Well, it seems I have underestimated your abilities, then. Then I will tell you, but I'm fairly certain now that you at least have an idea of what I want to use it for."

Mezzomon managed to slow the copy of Legionmon down with his Time Tempo, but even when slowed, it was still able to reform no matter what the small Digimon through at it.

"_Perfection_, good sir. I wish to make my Legionmon Perfect."

Chargermon tried ramming the arachnid, but it turned itself into a sheet of liquid-like metal that encased him and sent him flying wildly into the walls, narrowly avoiding hitting Jackmon in all the confusion.

"It's impossible."

"Maybe for you it is, but, you see, I am a genius. I have reconfigured this program, this program that was designed to transmit Perfect and Ultimate data to Legal Digimon to target only Legionmon. And since it's designed to target only my one Digimon, it will not interfere with Digicorps. already existing version. I'm not trying to _ruin_ the game for anyone else; I'm merely trying to enjoy the game like everyone else. And you're trying to ruin _my_ fun."

"Doesn't negate the fact that you stole it."

White started laughing again. "Tell you what I'll do. As an apology, I'll let you see it. The first Illegal Digimon to evolve to Perfect. Legionmon!" The three spiders stopped pummeling the other Digimon. "Why don't we put on a show for our guests."

"Yes master." The three Legionmons gathered together and reformed at their master's side.

"Now, let me show you..." He held his DP out so Kurohi could see the Perfect Evolution Program on it. "Our Perfect Evolution." He smiled broadly and swiped his finger.

The sphere behind him began to spin and expel green light. Particles flew from it in every which direction, all of which curved and converged on Legionmon. The spider radiated with an aura even greater than that of its previous evolution. The data compressed itself around it until he was nothing but an emerald silhouette. Then, all the data dispersed in a single instant.

_Program Error_

Nothing happened. White remained motionless on his screen for a few seconds. White looked down at his DP. "I don't understand. My calculations were correct. The program should work. Why isn't it working?" He tried again. The sphere shot off more data as it spun, but the results were ultimately the same.

_Program Error_

"No! This shouldn't be happening! I did everything flawlessly! It should work!"

"Dude, I'm sure your program's working fine." Kurohi attempted to console the raging youth. "You just missed something."

White looked up from his tirade suspiciously. "What? What did I miss?"

Kurohi pointed to Legionmon. "Him. Or it, I'm not really sure what it is." Kurohi adopted a scholarly tone before continuing. "You see, unlike you, I actually got my copy of the program from the team that created it. I was also able to talk to them about how the program works, and why it doesn't work on Illegal Digimon."

White's suspicion was replaced with curiosity. "And why is that?"

"Actually...it does work."

White looked confused. He wasn't the only one either. Both Pop and Ricker who were looking over and healing their Digimon in the pause after the battle looked at him with puzzlement.

"If it does work, then why can't we evolve farther?"

"Well, it's not the programs fault." Jackmon buzzed over next to Kurohi, mirroring Legionmon's position to White. "It's the Digimons'. If you were paying attention to your Digimon while you were trying to evolve him, you might be able to guess what the problem is."

This time, it was Pop who responded to Kurohi's purposefully vague musings. "It couldn'd absorb the data."

Kurohi nodded to her. "Illegals have difficulty absorbing data from outside sources. Legal Digimon are designed from their very cores to be able to absorb additional data in order to evolve. If you alter that data even a little, it'll lose that ability to absorb it. The reason programs work is because the Digimon isn't directly absorbing the data in most cases, and normally take the form of weapons or auras." He turned his attention back to White. "Which is why your plan failed."

White let out a sigh. "So it's impossible. It'd be an understatement to say I wasn't a little disappointed. Legionmon." Legionmon readied himself for battle again. "Since you're here, I guess I'll just have to take this frustration out on you, then."

Kurohi started laughing.

"You think my failure is funny? Let me remind you that my Legionmon was able to take on all three of your Digimon with no trouble at all. Do you really think it's a good idea to antagonize me?"

Kurohi attempted to stifle his laughter. "No, it's not that. It's just for a self-proclaimed genius, you're not a very good listener." Kurohi's laughter was replaced by a wide grin. "Yes, it is impossible for a Digimon to evolve to Perfect, I'm not denying that. But then again, we're Illegals!" His voice was booming with gravitas now. "We're imperfect by nature! And that's what makes us..." Kurohi raised his DP once more. "_Superior!_" He finger glided across the screen, and his voice settled down to a whisper. "Now let me show you my answer."

_Override Accepted – Superior Evolution_

An ominous red light shone through Jackmon's skin, as if his very soul was trying to break free of his body. His entire body collapsed in on itself, until it was a baseball sized orb of red and black light. The space around it began to warp and distort in on itself. The Digimon could feel themselves being drawn into the space.

An enormous arm covered in twisted black metal burst forth from the black hole, grabbing back down on the ball in order to hoist its owner out. "_Jackmon! Superior Evolution!_" Another arm wrenched itself free, prying the head and torso of the dragon Digimon out. There was a large green and blue sphere clutched in its wings, which it pulled out of the black hole with such force that it broke the hole, sending a concussive wave out that caused even the powerful Legionmon to shudder.

Before them stood an enormous Digimon, who carried the world on his back.

"_GlobaLinkmon!_"


	12. Chapter 12

Episode 12: Answer; Alterations; Attack

The Digimon was monstrous, filling up at least a fourth of the space within the computer. Its body was jet-black, with its arms, chest, and jaws coated in plates of black Chrome Digizoid. As its enormous tail swished back and forth, the very air around it seemed to shake. Strangest of all was the giant globe perched on its back, which was held in place by its six wings.

GlobaLinkmon let out a roar, causing all present to quake under the pressure it produced.

"What do you think of my answer, White?" Kurohi was not smiling. His expression showed no joy, malice, or anything of the sort. He was simply seeking the opinion of someone with a similar ideal.

White stared down the beast without flinching. "It's big, and appears strong." He snapped his fingers. "But I won't be impressed unless it can...dodge!" Legionmon dispersed, leaving behind its child form while the remaining silver mist that it expunged shot forward and sunk into GlobaLinkmon's skin.

The air was still for a moment as everyone waited for something to happen.

"Master, we have lost contact with partitions 1058477 through 1073741824."

"All of them? And so quickly..." White pondered with his chin in his hand for a moment before throwing up his arms. "Very well, I surrender. For the moment, at least. I think I may have figured out how exactly you accomplished this evolution."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know." Kurohi's response was polite, and he gave a small bow to accompany it. "Unless it is something I don't wish to tell you."

"Fair enough." White seemed to walk forward, passing through the screen. He stood there, in all his transparent pre-rendered glory, smiling at Kurohi's rather startled face. "Impressed?"

"Depends. Can you dodge?"

"Let us move on." White raised a single finger, and drew a red circle and a smaller silver circle in mid-air. "The way the program is supposed to work is it expels data." He drew arrows coming our of the red circle. "I originally thought that this data was only able to be absorbed by specific Digimon, but as you've stated that is not the case, and it merely expels free data to be used by an Digimon."

Kurohi winced momentarily as he remembered that Digimon were not the only digital lifeforms that could use this data, but kept his mouth shut.

"According to you, Illegal Digimon are unable to absorb this free data, so you simply altered its function from sending data to absorbing data." He flipped the arrows so that they were pointing inward.

"Micro-black holes!" Pop clapped his fist onto her palm light.

White looked from Pop to Kurohi and mouthed 'Black Hole?'.

Kurohi mouthed back 'Just go with it'.

"...Bu' wait. Whad's dhe point of jus' switchin' dhe flow? Dhat doesn' explain how Linkmon could go from bein' a tiny lizard to...dhat thing." She gestured her arms in GlobaLinkmon's direction.

"Yes." White was also staring at the black behemoth. "It's true that just reversing the flow of data would normally do nothing. That is, unless you incorporated that data into another program." His shifted his gaze back to Kurohi. "After all, that black hole didn't just spawn from nowhere."

Pop turned to Kurohi so fast, you'd think her neck would have snapped. "You didn't."

Ricker looked confused. "What? I don't get it."

White cleared his throat. "Your friend here installed the program within his Digimon, granting it the data absorbing abilities that set it apart from normal Digimon." He gestured to Kurohi. "And that is how you managed to evolve your Digimon to Perfect, correct?"

Kurohi looked disappointed. "You're only half right."

"Oh? And what was I wrong about?"

"He's not perfect. He's Superior."

White laughed lightly. "Well, he does appear to be quite strong. He may be stronger than any other perfect to date, but it's hard to say since I'd rather not put my Legionmon in harms way to test that."

"No, you don't get it. He's not a Perfect Level Digimon, he's a Superior Level Digimon."

White mimicked the confusion that Ricker had been wearing for the past several minutes. "Superior...Level?"

"I was not trying to replicate the processes of Perfect Evolution. The Superior Evolution process can't distinguish the data it absorbs, and merely sucks everything in erratically. This makes it slightly more dangerous. However." Kurohi went into exposition mode. "There are three major upsides to this. The first is what you witnessed earlier. Any data that enters a Superior Level Digimon that it does not recognize will be absorbed, preventing viral infections."

"Hmm." White looked surprised. "I had accounted the absorption of Legionmon's partitions to be due to an instability in the program with the absorption process. I hadn't even imagined that you'd use it to such an extent."

"Secondly, since it does not require the specific free-form data most Digimon use to evolve, Superior Evolution cannot be restricted. And finally, the indistinguishability allows Superior Evolution to not only be used as a method of powering up a Digimon, but also as a weapon."

"A weapon?" White seemed taken aback. "Surely you can't be serious? Forcibly tearing out chunks of a Digimon's data would destroy it, with little to no chance of restoring it."

"I never said it was a weapon against other Digimon."

White stared Kurohi down. He could feel in his gut that there was more to it that what he was being told. That there was a piece missing from the puzzle that kept it from forming a complete picture. "What else is there, agent of Digicorp.?"

"It's not what is but what may." Kurohi took on a somber hue. "This digital world has been changing rapidly over a very short period of time since the introduction of Digimon. Who's to say that something more dangerous couldn't crawl out of the metalwork?"

"I see. It seems like it would be a good defense, as ridiculous as the idea is." White next words were inaudible to the others. "At least that's what I'd like to think." White straightened his shirt collar and addressed the bizarre collection before him. "Well, everyone, I have thoroughly enjoyed this little sparring session, and appreciate the information you have shared with me, but it is becoming late, and I wish to retire. Legionmon will escort you off the premises."

"Hold on jusd a minute!" Pop had her arms crossed and reminded Kurohi of a bear that had just been woken up. "We've been sittin' here for dhe past few minutes doi'n'othin' but listenin' to dhe two of you talk, and I was fine wi'dh'at because, well, no Illegal's ever evolved past Champion before." Again, she gestured in GlobaLinkmon's direction. "And id was cool to here how you did dhat and everthin', but we came here on a mission. We are here for dhat program. And now we have a crazy strong Digimon which means you can' say no. Now hand it over." She finished her tirade with one final arm-crossed harumph.

White looked at her totally straight-faced. "You broke into my house." He paused to let that sink in. "Yes, I did steal this program from Digicorp., but you, as its agents, have also performed a illegality towards me. I think that sets us about even, wouldn't you agree?"

"But...but..."

Ricker turned to the young girl. "He's got a point, Pop."

"Kurohi." GlobaLinkmon's gravelly voice resonated in Kurohi's ear. "If we're not actually going to do any fighting, I'd like to regress. I'm still not entirely used to this form, yet."

"Sure, that's-" An urgent marked e-mail popped up that distracted him. "Guys, we've gotta go. Let's go, Link." Kurohi turned around and started to head out of the computer, followed by his large partner.

Pop called back at him. "We're not finished here yet!"

"Pop." Ricker was now in hot pursuit of Kurohi. "You might want to read your mail." He and Chargermon were soon out of sight.

Pop quickly skimmed the e-mail. It was short, so it didn't take very long to do so. "Hey, wait for me!" She started to go after them.

"Would someone please tell me what all the rush is about?" The transparent White stood there tapping his foot.

Pop stopped in her tracks. "Uh..." She had a feeling she wasn't supposed to tell him about what their team had actually been assembled for. "We've got another job. Id's secret, and id's more important than dhis one, so...yea." She turned tail with Mezzomon and left White and Legionmon standing there.

* * *

It only took them a few minutes to locate Darcmon, who was waiting for them in Finland. "What have you done?" Her gaze was instantly fixated on the large black dragon.

"Our other mission didn't go quite as expected." Kurohi was pure business. "Erika, are you here?"

"Yea, yea." Her face maximized in a window. Her silk pajamas suggested she had just woken up. "Alright, here's the sit-Jesus, what the heck is that!?" She was also drawn to GlobaLinkmon, just as her partner had been.

Not wanting to waste time, Kurohi brought her back down to earth. "The situation, ma'am?"

"Huh? Right." She gave a small cough into her hand. "I know that this is the first time some of us have met face-to-face."

Ricker was trying to look as serious as Kurohi, but was jittering around in his chair. Pop was finding it difficult to take this situation seriously with their boss dressed for bed.

"But our mission is urgent, and we'll have to save introductions for later." She pulled up a map of the area. "The unevolved DIGIrus is currently here." A blinking red dot appeared on the map. "Your mission is simple; destroy it before it can evolve. There will be no questions. I will remain on standby here with Darcmon since we won't be able to assist you. Now get out there."

Kurohi took the map file and the six of them dashed to the designated location. "According to this, our target is in the middle of an upcoming passage. You guys head in and distract it; Link and I'll head around the back and flank it. You guys ok with that?"

Pop gave an evil smile. "Fine widh me, but don' be upset if dhere's nothin' left of it when you get dhere."

Ricker chimed in as well. "We'll do out best, so you better hurry."

"Got it."

The two and their Digimon broke off from the black giant and his partner, each group taking a separate path. It wasn't even 30 seconds before Pop and Ricker turned a corner and found their target. Sitting in the middle of a massive spiderweb was a DIGIrus. It looked like a green Shellmon, whose shell had been replaced with the headless body of a Dokugumon. Hundreds of files were flying into its web, which it proceeded to gobble up as if it hadn't eaten in days.

"Looks like dhis one's gone vegetarian. Shouldn'd be too hard to take it out before the big guns show up. Dhis'll be an easy first mission."

"I dunno, Pop." Ricker looked skeptical. "We don't know how long it's been here. And our track record against DIGIrus in 0-1. We should try and be strategic, instead of showing off. Chargermon, try and knock it off its web."

The green ball Digimon beeped happily and rolled up. He began spinning in place until he was coated in what looked like golden flames before blasting forward at high-speed. The DIGIrus saw it coming and, despite being half sea snail, scuttled out of the way in time. Chargermon took a wide U-turn and went in for another strike. The DIGIrus began to move again, but almost immediately slowed down once the flute music started. Mezzomon was playing a sorrowful melody that would have moved Chargermon to tears if he wasn't hurtling at top speed into the abdomen of a snail-spider hybrid. The impact was strong enough to knock the creature clear off its web, taking a large chunk of it with it. The disorientated creature made wild swings at the nearby cannonball.

"_Global Shutdown!_" A gigantic orb of purple energy hit the green and yellow chimera on the side of its abdomen, destroying half of its legs. Kurohi and GlobaLinkmon had finally come around and managed to get a surprise hit on the distracted DIGIrus. "We apologize for being late."

Pop waved off the apology. "We've been managin' jus' fine, bein' all strategic and everythin'." She nodded to Ricker.

Ricker returned the nod. "This one appears to be a lot weaker than the last one we fought. Kurohi, Linkmon should finish it off now."

The creature was wailing and writing non-stop. In the short time that the team was exchanging banter, it managed to wriggle itself close enough to its destroyed web to start biting at its remains.

GlobaLinkmon and Mezzomon both began hailing it with attacks to try and deter it away, but no matter how many holes they kept blasting into it, it kept eating. After consuming about half of its web, and being reduced to almost nothing but a head, it let out a ghastly scream. "_Evooolutioooon!_"

The MoriShellmon head burst like a balloon. The new creature that stood in its place was bright orange with eight legs and two levitating green spheres floating above it. It looked like an abdomen-less armored spider with a mantis-like head. "_Pantapodarusss!_" The newly evolved DIGIrus hissed loudly at them before it began clawing away at the floor, trying to escape into the either.

"Link, don't let it escape!"

GlobaLinkmon rammed his USB tail into the nearest wall. "_Confinement of Tartarus!_" From the hole that the sea spider DIGIrus had been hurriedly digging spouted a murky black sludge. It seeped up and encased its legs, binding it in place no matter how much it struggled to get away. GlobaLinkmon landed in front of the Pantapodarus, which hissed at him again. He reached up and seized the globe on his back. "_Atlas Hammer!_" He brought the makeshift melee weapon down upon the left half of its body, deleting the portion immediately. The creature screamed loudly. Not even bothering to lift to globe again, he swung it through what remained, permanently deleting it.

Mezzomon and Chargermon watched in awe at the ease with which GlobaLinkmon deleted an evolved DIGIrus. "So that is the power of a Superior Level Digimon..."

Chargermon gave a low beep in consent.

GlobaLinkmon reverted back to his Child Level, and the other two did the same.

Kurohi and the others were silent. They all stared down at the battlefield that was quickly repairing itself. They had won. They had successfully defeated their first DIGIrus. No, defeat wasn't the right word. They had deleted it, and something about that didn't quite sit right with Kurohi, though he wasn't quite sure why. Not wanting to get his team down, he pushed aside those feeling for the moment and gave everyone the best not-fake-looking smile he could. "Mission complete, everyone." They returned his remark with nods and smiles of their own, which meant that they hadn't picked up on Kurohi's mood.

"Man, dhat was easier that I thought id' be." Pop leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh.

Ricker bobbed his head in consent. "It's good to know that these things can be defeated." There was that word again. "We can't be sure thou if it's due to it just being weaker than the last one we fought, or if it's due to Linkmon's increased strength."

"Don' be such a downer." Pop seemed to be full of energy. "We jusd finished our first successful mission. Worry aboud dhat stuff later."

"I agree with Pop on this one. We did good tonight, Ricker. A little celebrating wouldn't hurt." Kurohi rubbed his hands together. "Right, let's reconvene with the boss lady, then head on home." He looked around his apartment for a second. "Or...you know what I mean."

They headed off to where they'd met with Erika and Darcmon a few minutes before, but Sopranomon and Rollermon lingered for just a second more.

"I'm...I'm not sure I want it, Master Rollermon. Not that kind of power."

The two of them hurried after their Tamers.


End file.
